The "pounce" generation

For rock fans like me, one of the greatest journalists out there is Eddie Trunk, who is known for covering heavy metal for several decades. I'm a huge fan of his XM radio show and I love watching clips of it on Youtube. I was very surprised to realize that sometimes his best comments have nothing to do with music and more about society today. While talking about the decline of Paul Stanley's voice (a subject I totally agree with Trunk on) he mentioned that he calls a group of people today the "pounce" generation, because they are so quick to pounce on everything they hear that they disagree with.

He could not be more right about this. As much as I love the internet and social media, one of the biggest problems is unsolvable. Whatever someone says will be twisted, taken vastly out of context and "pounced" on by virtue happy and sometimes miserable people who can't bother to see if what they are critiquing is accurate or not.

Words and statements can be taken out of context, spun and analyzed in so many ways today. People also view them through their own perspective and are often times too lazy/stupid to try and understand them through the eyes of someone else. It makes me feel sorry for public figures sometimes, because no matter what they say it is bound to be completely misread by a large portion of the population.

It's not changing either. Do I really think that suddenly people are going to crack down and be more hesitant to say things? Are people going to turn their critical eye inward? Of course not. I'm not saying I'm perfect either of course-but all of us should be able to see what Trunk is taking about here.

University of Tampa fires a college professor...

Note: If you are this hate filled and angry, don't get a Twitter account. A University of Tampa professor is looking for a new job after he blamed Hurricane Harvey on GOP voters.The University did the right thing by firing him. It's rare they did that-he must not have had tenure-and college professors shoot their mouths off like this all the time. I'm glad he got fired of course, but I'm surprised that he did. 

If you are on the left, your first reaction might be to say "But conservatives say this all the time!'. Some do. Some even Tweet stupid things and post stupid things to their Facebook. They get fired too, and you'll correctly jump on them. But let's not kid ourselves-people on both sides of the aisle should be called out if they say things this vile. I'm all for standing your ground and arguing, but I'm not for this kind of behavior. No one should be.

Joel Osteen

Well, he's become a popular fellow lately hasn't he? Apparently the mega church pastor Joel Osteen didn't open up his church for Houston refugees and the internet isn't happy about it. While I admit it doesn't look good for him, it's amusing to me to see people so quick to pounce on the guy.

First off no, I don't particularly like him. Dude seems like more of a motivational speaker than an actual preacher. I have no problem with protestantism, in fact many protestant denominations are on to something with their theology-but Joel Osteen doesn't seem to have a theology. He doesn't preach about sin or repentance. While that's not uncommon, I have a hard time considering you to be a preacher or a pastor if you can't bother to talk about things that aren't politically correct. Him being incredibly rich doesn't bother me. I'm a raw capitalist. Should a preacher be that rich? I'm agnostic on that. Not every Christian takes a vow of poverty and you can be a rich person and be a wonderful priest/bishop/pastor/minister/rabbi/Iman (get my drift?)

Christians are in a catch 22. No matter what we do, someone will accuse us of not behaving like a Christian.  For all we know, maybe the church isn't capable of holding refugees. Maybe it's flooded as well. Maybe it's just not able to hold 2000 people overnight for a long period of time. Or maybe he's just a phony and fraud who doesn't believe what he preaches. I don't know, and neither do you.

But this doesn't look good on him.

Social Distortion concert

So, I was away this weekend and didn't bring my computer with me to blog. For the one person who reads my blog regularly-sorry to disappoint you.   I went to go see Social Distortion at the House of Blues in Orlando Friday night then spent the weekend going to the parks.

Ever since the death of Lemmy from Motorhead and Chris Cornell from Soundgarden I've put more energy into seeing bands of all types. It's a cliche to say this and I apologize upfront, but yes, we never know what can happen and people can be gone in the blink of an eye. I get it, it is how life works. No one knows for sure when our time is up. I've never been to the House of Blues before in Orlando but I was stunned about how crowded the show was. Totally sold out and standing room only. 

It's a sign of my advancing age but I was also surprised about how irritated I was at the idiots mashing down below. Social Distortion isn't really a "moshing" type of band and even their lead singer, Mike Ness, seemed confused and irritated by the actions of a few idiots. Fifteen years ago I would have been right there of course-but now I thought they were obnoxious and like Otto says in The Simpsons episode, ruining it for everyone. Thankfully nothing bad happened and the concert was truly fantastic. Social Distortion didn't miss a note and they played a wonderful mix of both older songs and stuff off their newer albums. It was a fantastic show and the start to a great weekend. 

Album of the weekend

Godsmack-self titled

Originally from Lawrence, Massachusetts Godsmack is one of those bands that those of us who grew up in New England seem to love. They are overrated in my view, but that doesn't mean they are necessarily bad. It's not always a good sign when your self titled album is your best one though-and in their case, it is. (Not counting their acoustic right now. Different conversation)

The song writing is not strong here-many of their songs seem to be about leaving or going away somewhere. Since songwriting is very subjective, I fully admit that is just my opinion. Regardless, I still don't think the song writing is very good. The sound is unique-and at that point in time it was the first album of it's kind that I heard. It's like a band trying to mix metal with alternative with the nu-metal of the late 90's. It does work though- for a few songs at least.

Apparently there was some controversy when Godsmack first came on the scene. Some mom got all fussy because their kid brought this album home and immediately afterwards, Godsmacks sales skyrocketed. Let that be a lesson to the whiners, boycotters and complainers-getting really upset and showing the world how offended you are almost always backfires. 

ESPN goes full social justice warrior

Like the headline says, ESPN pulls announcer from a UVA football game because the guy was named "Robert Lee".  First off, the elephant in the room-the dude is not Robert E Lee, the Confederate leader from the US Civil War. In fact, the dude is Asian. So, in order to be politically correct and in order to embrace the latest radical chic, ESPN offends Asian-Americans and frankly, common sense.

ESPN is in a tailspin, and in order to recover it seems like they are embracing the hard left social justice warrior movement. It's not working very well for them-they are still losing money. Part of the reason they are losing money is just because it's 2017-when I want sports scores I can check my phone. Another part is that they are alienating a large amount of their fanbase by trying to shove political correctness down our throat. I'm not saying that sports fans aren't pc-many of them surely are-but we watch sports to escape from current events. ESPN doesn't seem to understand that world we live in today.

Vinnie Vincent scheduled to appear at a Kiss expo...

Rumors are going all over the place that Vinnie Vincent will appear at a Kiss expo in Atlanta.  A Kiss expo, for those who may not know, are for losers like me who are fans of the band Kiss. I live in the south, so I'll probably be going to Atlanta for this. I'm not eager to meet Vinnie Vincent though-a guy who may be immensely talented but is also immensely troubled and a total recluse.

Him being a recluse is among the more interesting things about him. Generally, when you are a recluse people are more interested in you. JD Salinger is the perfect example of this. The guy wrote one mediocre novel (Sorry people), disappeared, and  then became the target of obsession and mystery for forty years. Vinnie Vincent joined many bands-and the guy is incredibly talented as a guitarist-but he's also controversial and as Paul Stanley says in his biography, "virtually no one has good things to say about Vinnie as a person." He's also been fired by many bands and it never ends smoothly for anyone involved.

I highly doubt he'll show up to this. I'm also not sure why Kiss fans are eager to see him. Sure, the two albums he did with the band are quite good (Creatures of the Night, Lick it Up) but if he was a jerk in the 70's, 80's and 90's-what makes you think he'll change? 

Eclipse!

Apparently, there was an eclipse on Monday. Did you hear about it? I didn't. I had no idea what was going to happen and I thought it was the end of the world when I saw the sky get dark. I ran outside, stared at the sun, and now I'm seeing dark spots in my vision. I hope they'll clear up soon.

Okay, I just made that up. Yes, I knew about the eclipse. Yes, I knew when it was going to happen. No, I did not think the world was going to end. No, I didn't run outside and my vision is just fine. Living in my part of Florida it was a cloudy day and the sky didn't even get dark. So we missed the eclipse. I felt bad for the school kids who were eager to see it-but most were allowed out of school so I don't feel that bad for them. The eclipse down here was a giant dud that didn't live up to it's hype.

I didn't care about it either. At all. Sure, I was a called a killjoy and "anti-science" because I didn't care about it, but it didn't bother me. I'm not sure that label applies. I like science, believe that global warming is real, that GMO foods are totally fine and that homosexuality is natural. So I'm not "anti-science" just because I don't care about an eclipse. Expressing that you don't care about a certain issue is also not the same as being a killjoy.

The book is better

I've already mentioned how I feel about Stephen King. Sure, I'm in the minority of huge horror fans who dislike him, but it's out there. Here is a link to the original blog.  He's obviously extremely popular and his popularity shows because there are two more movies coming out based on his works. The remake of "It"(which I've also talked about) and one based on his "Dark Tower" series. I haven't read the Dark Tower series.

Apparently the Dark Tower movie isn't getting great reviews. Some of the reviewers are saying that it's a very difficult series to translate to film. I can see why-most of his books are foolishly long. They were turned into bad mini-series in the 90's (I highly suggest watching the Nostalgia Critic videos based on them) and now they are turning into bad movies.

I heard someone say that the "books are better". That saying drives me crazy. In 2017, this should be so well known and so accepted that it hardly needs to be discussed. It's like saying "Don't run naked into a bonfire". If you need to be told that the "book is better" or running naked into a bonfire isn't a good idea, you probably aren't ready to listen to the advice in the first place.

Scripture Sunday Alma 13:28

I'm sure this is a very popular scripture, and in theory-it's a good one. Being meek, submissive and humble before the Lord is a good thing. After all, the Lord is all powerful and all knowing and you are not. What isn't talked about though is that being meek and humble in front of the Lord does not mean that you have to be a milquetoast in dealing with your fellow men.

There is a difference of course between "Christian Love and meekness" and "I am a doormat who is too frightened and humble to ever make a stand". If you trust in the Lord (and you should) then you know there is a time for everything. Striking the right balance between humility and strength is a challenge for all Christians, because the moment a Christian takes a stand and chooses to debate or argue a non believer can say "But you aren't being humble!" Sadly, many people confuse "being humble" for "never standing up for yourself."

Pseudo-Tough guys (and girls)

I'm seeing a lot of people on social media trying to show how tough they think they are. They threaten to "punch" people they disagree with-both sides are guilty of this. Resorting to physical violence is always a terrible idea, no matter what your intention is. Threatening to punch people, even really bad people, will get you no where and could lead you into serious trouble.

One thing I've noticed in my life is that the really, really tough people don't talk about how tough they are. It's like the guy in the room who brags about how many women he's been with. With the sole exception of Hugh Heffner-he's almost certainly lying.

It's very easy to be tough in front of your cellphone or computer screen-but in reality, bragging about how tough you are means you've never been in a fistfight in your life. Everyone thinks they are tough until they are confronted with someone who can punch back. Being punched hurts, no matter who you are or how tough you think you are. You can walk around threatening to punch people, but I've yet to meet someone who would just stand there and let themselves get punched. You can break boards in karate class tough guy, but like Bruce Lee said in Enter the Dragon , "Boards don't punch back."

You've also got the troubling aspect that you don't know who you are attacking. Sure, the guy might be a Neo-Nazi and a despicable person, but if he's carrying a gun and you are not-it's not going to end well. Since most neo-Nazis are nothing but bullies, they'll also be in groups. If it's one on seven- you will lose. Here is something else not talking about. Let's say you punch a guy in the face, he falls down, hits his head, and suddenly dies of a stroke. You feel proud of yourself-after all you've killed someone you can't stand-but the law might think differently and you won't feel very tough when you are prosecuted for manslaughter. Also, you might think that beating up Neo-Nazis will make you a hero, but having to carry around the burden that you killed someone (even by accident) isn't really positive to your mental health and well being in the long run.

You'd think people past 5th grade would grow out of the "I'm so tough" phase. You'd be wrong.

Album of the weekend

Metallica-The Black Album

I'm surprised I haven't talked about this album either. Really surprised indeed. I think it's because it's the most controversial of their albums, even more so than Load/Re-Load and St. Anger. Controversial doesn't mean it's bad-but it doesn't mean it's good either. This is actually when they first "sold out" and it's the beginning of the end for their glorious heavy metal/trash career. It's still not a bad album though, with some very good songs. 

Like many times with Metallica the best songs are not the most popular songs. The best songs are "Through the Never" and "The God that Failed". I'm afraid to say the the worst songs are "Nothing Else Matters" and "Enter Sandman". Ask yourself this-would those two songs be on Master of Puppets, Justice for All, or Ride the Lightning? The answer is a resounding no. 

I can't hate this album though. For many people it was their first introduction to Metallica, once of the greatest bands or all time. It's way too "radio friendly" (remember that term?) and lacks the bands original sound of long, passionate, deep and insightful heavy metal. But if you are into pop-metal, it's your thing. 

LDS white pride blogger

There is a girl out there in the blogosphere that claims to be LDS and also claims to be an advocate of "white culture." Her name is "Ayla Stewart" and I don't care about the name of her blog. You shouldn't either, she doesn't need more attention. Needless to say, she's either a lunatic, misguided, or evil. Maybe all three. I can't read her mind so I can't tell you which she is.

One thing I can tell you though-she does not represent what the mainstream LDS church thinks anymore than the delusional polygamy groups do. I have to admit, the LDS church does not have a perfect history when it comes to race and no, the mistakes the church made can not be swept under the rug. Thankfully though, our leadership has tried to go the extra mile to condemn racism and, in a fit of wonderful bravery-to condemn white supremacist groups.  I'm very proud that the members of the church have stepped up to the plate in this case. She needs to be told that her behavior is totally out of line.

Oh sure, she has the right to say whatever she wants to. After all, free speech isn't for ideas that you agree with. However the church, and I also have free speech, and we can say that this girl is out of her goddamn mind.

Being "against racism"

The comedian Chris Rock has a great routine about wanting credit for things you are supposed to do. He mentions (and I'm going to butcher this) "Why do you want credit for things you are supposed to do? You want credit for taking care of your kids? For staying out of jail? You aren't supposed to go to jail! You are supposed to take care of your kids!" He's right of course.

You aren't supposed to be racist either. In fact, it's awful to be hate someone just because of their skin color or religion. The reality is that you shouldn't get credit for not being racist either. The more you broadcast how not racist you are the more you sound like someone who wants credit for not selling meth to six year olds.

It's very obvious that we live in a society that loves to finger wave and preach to everyone. We also like to show everyone else how wonderful and compassionate we think we are. I see a lot of people on social media posting non-stop about how anti-racism they are. That's nice, and I guess it's better than being a racist, but it's still very self serving.

Living a "double life"

We've all heard the phrase before, that someone was living a "double life" when they are caught doing something wrong. It can be a sexual scandal-when a man or women is caught in an affair we often say "Wow! We didn't know they were living a double life!" When a person gets busted for a DUI or caught with an amount of drugs, we say the same thing. This statement is overused and only has a small degree of truth to it.

To some degree, each and everyone of us (including you reading this-both of you) are guilty of "living a double life". I don't know of anyone who greets people with "Hi, I had an abortion when I was 17." or, "I once hit a guy on his bike on a back country road. Cops never found me. Nice to meet you too." It's not just one time mistakes, which I admit shouldn't define you unless you've done something truly heinous. We also don't greet people by saying "Hello, my last three marriages all failed due to chronic infidelity on my part. Oh yeah and my three kids aren't my husbands."

I'm not saying that every is guilty of some grave, huge sin or transgression. In fact, it's usually not the case. However humans are just that-human, and we are capable of making all sorts of mistakes. 

Charlottesville

I don't know any racist people. None of my friends make jokes based on race. Religion is another matter. My friends do make jokes based on our religious beliefs. If one person was too sensitive or too much of a baby to joke around, we probably wouldn't be friends with them in the first place, but we'd probably not joke them. 

I think that the alt-right racists compose .000000001% of the population. They are, of course, gravely evil and worthy of our disdain. I do think that 99% of the population of America would strongly condemn these idiots, and based on what I am seeing on social media, it's like that. The majority of people in America are not racist, or if they are-they need to keep it very quiet. Based on the outcry that this incident has erupted one could easily argue that we live in a country where racism is quickly condemned by virtually everyone. 

Yes, Trump disappointed us again by not condemning them by name. At this point, nothing surprises me anymore with him. 

Scripture Sunday 2 Nephi 33:12

This passage is oddly controversial. Upon first reading, it could be difficult to wonder why. After all, shouldn't you be happy that everyone is saved? Don't we want everyone to be in the kingdom of God for eternity? Like everyone else my first reaction is yes! Of course I want "many of us, if not all" to be saved!" But there are some issues with the concept of universal salvation.

First off, if everyone gets to Heaven in the end what's the point of following the rules of the gospel? Seriously, if everyone gets to Heaven I'm going to spend my time smoking weed, hoarding my money and never going to the church. Sure, there are people who would continue to live the rules of the gospel no matter what, but if salvation was 100% assured to all of us, there wouldn't be as many people in church on Sunday as you think there would be.

Next, if universal salvation is possible does that mean Hitler and Charles Manson go to the same place as Mother Theresa and Martin Luther King? Well, if universal salvation is true than yes, that does mean that Osama Bin Laden could be sipping tea with Winston Churchill (who was a lifelong atheist, by the way) right now. Universal salvation looks good on paper but it's one of those issues that might not look as good the more you think about it.

Reality TV shows being "fake"

This is going to shock you. You might be appalled. You might have your faith in humanity shaken to it's core. Are you ready?

Reality TV is often heavily produced and scripted. It's based in reality but it's not actual reality.  And-99% of people who enjoy these shows know this.

Ya think?

If this is news to you, I have other interesting things to tell you about carnival games, land in Florida, and emails you get offering cash from Nigeria. Yes, reality tv shows are "fake". So are the movies and television shows you watch. Tom Cruise? That guy from the Mission Impossible series? I heard he isn't really an international spy. And those doctors on Grey's Anatomy? I heard they weren't real doctors either! Oh, the humanity!

A major pet peeve of mine is when people tell me that wrestling is "fake". These people are usually too dense to understand the difference between "scripted" and "fake" and they want to show their disdain for you dirty people who dare to like such a uncouth thing like wrestling. It's the same with reality TV. If you are surprised that the Man vs Wild star stays in a 5 star hotel sipping champagne during his excursions to the wild, then shame on you for being that naive. If you think you are telling us revelations unknown to man by saying that the Man vs Wild star stays in a 5 star hotel while sipping champagne-then shame on you for being that naive too.

Album of the weekend

The Beatles-Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band

Interesting that the song "When I'm 64" seems odd to us now. 64 is hardly old, in fact it's not even retirement age. When you listen to the song you get the feeling that 64 means senility and dementia have already set in and you have no time left in your life. Welcome to the glorious age of 2017.

To some people this album isn't taken seriously. Why? I'm not sure. To me it's one of their better albums with songs that can really hit home. "She's Leaving Home" must be heartbreaking to parents who are going through drama with their kids. It's one of the more emotional songs they've written. Everyone knows that "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is about LSD, even though I've heard rumors that Lennon never meant it to. It's a great song regardless of the meaning.

This isn't their best album, but it's still The Beatles. It's inherently good just because it's done by one of the greatest bands of all time.

More thoughts on North Korea

I'm not afraid of North Korean aggression. They've been threatening us for years now with wild hyperbolic talk and nothing has come from it. Sure, they threaten to "Nuke the world" and apparently they have among the largest armies in the world. 

But they can't feed their population, must less their troops. I never served in the military and I'm hardly an expert on modern warfare, but I'm fairly certain that soldiers need to eat. 

North Korea presents a problem that we all have though. How do we deal with the posturing bully that terrorizes their own people, threatens everyone they don't like, and is generally just a giant nuisance to the world? Do we leave it to Japan and South Korea? 

I've heard people say "Wait till the North Koreans uprise against their own government." It doesn't work that way. North Korea is the most oppressive and controlled country in the world. According to the amazing book "Nothing to Envy" by Barbra Demick, "You do not talk politics with your girlfriend, boyfriend or family in North Korea". These aren't people who can just have a revolution by themselves. 

North Korean prison camps are brutal. By far the worst places in the world. The Aquariums of Pyongyang was not as well written as the Gulag Archipelago but in some ways is just as important. To think that people are suffering like this today makes me sick. 

I don't think military action against North Korea is a good thing-but if North Korea gets too out of control and too threatening, it might be time to put the gloves on and play liberator

LDS leader excommunicated

Like the headline says, a high up LDS leader was excommunicated.

I've never heard of the guy before. I'm hardly an expert on general authorities. I don't think he was excommunicated though-it simply says he was released from his callings. I don't know the details of what happened and you don't either.

The church is in a tough place with this. It wants to publicly address issues of misbehavior among it's members, in particular it's higher ups and especially among the really top people. Obviously it still has rules to follow. Unless the public is in immediate danger you can't tell everyone what the guy did. I don't even want to take a guess it at, and I would argue that you shouldn't either.

That doesn't mean it can not be talked about or mentioned. The reality is that things like this have to be mentioned. We all know that scandals can cause huge damage to religions and religious leaders. It's best not to cover anything up unless it is deeply private and personal and would cause damage to innocent parties.

Excommunication is a severe punishment, and also a confusing one. Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Catholic Church back during the beginnings of the Protestant reformation, but I'm not sure he cared that much. If you no longer think the church is true or want to live by it's rules, than being told you are no longer a member shouldn't bother you. I think excommunication bothers the members more than it bothers the person being excommunicated.

This story is sort of sad all around.

Carnival rides

We've all heard of the Ohio State carnival disaster that left one person dead and many, many others injured. It's incredibly tragic and heartbreaking-you go to a carnival/state fair just to have some fun and unwind. No one expects to have this tragedy happen. My heart breaks for everyone involved.

Growing up my mother was always very hesitant to let me go on traveling amusement park rides. She thought they were inherently dangerous. I didn't really go on any of them because of that reason-instead if I wanted to ride on thrill rides I'd go to traditional amusement parks. I can't blame my mom, after all sometimes the people who manufacture and put together the traveling amusement park rides lack the training and background that people at traditional amusement parks have.

However, you don't hear about accidents at fairs and carnivals that much. While I'm sure they happen, if carnival rides were as dangerous as some people seem to think they are, wouldn't accidents be happening constantly? And don't tell me that they happen yet people don't hear about them. In 2017 where everything is recorded, if these rides really went wrong, we'd know. Video would go viral immediately.

I'm not saying that carnival rides are safe. Ironically I still don't go on them. Perhaps though they are not as dangerous as we thought they were. I still feel sorry for the families involved in this one though.

Typecasting

I was stuck in the doctors office a few days ago, so I decided to put in the earphones and look at some trashy Youtube videos. You ever seen those "Why Hollywood won't cast ______ anymore" videos by Nicki Swift? You can find them pretty easily, there seems to be hundreds of them online. Given my love of the Scream movies, I noticed that Nicki Swift had a video on why Hollywood wouldn't cast Neve Campbell anymore. She's the star of the movies, I can't imagine them without her charisma, wit, and strength.

I guess she is typecast now because she hasn't had much success outside of the Scream series. That's sad, it's obviously hurting her career. It's also easy for me to say this because I don't have her bills to pay, but a lot of people would love to have the starring role in what is widely considered one of the greatest horror series in movie history. Whatever she does or doesn't accomplish in the future, I hope and pray she finds some kind of peace in being part of the Scream series.

The horror genre is sometimes ignored by mainstream critics, but in reality it's one of the first genres to have strong, (incredibly strong actually) female protagonists. Sidney Prescott is just one in a long line of women who refuse to be victims. Clarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs. Laurie Strode in Halloween. Nancy Thompson in A Nightmare on Elm Street. All of those characters are perfect role models for female characters no matter what genre a movie is in.

Scripture Sunday Helaman 5:12

For some reason I'm not fully sure of, LDS get accused of all the time about not being Christians. While it's true, some of our beliefs don't fall into line with mainstream Christianity, there are many passages and verses in the Book of Mormon that should show someone that we are believers in Christ. This is one them.

In fact, it's so obvious that I wonder why it's not quoted more by members of the church. Helaman 5 states "and now my sons, remember that is upon the rock of our redeemer who is Christ, the son of God, that ye must build your foundation." To me, this should be a reminder to everyone-LDS or not, that the Book of Mormon testifies that the foundation of the church is Christ. The verse gets better too, when it says "Satan shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless woe because because of the rock that which ye built." If your foundation in Christianity is based in anything but Christ, it will fail.

Trump and Golf

I've talked about Obama playing golf before (you can read it right here) and the issue seems to be coming up again with Trump. This isn't really about golf, a sport that I don't particularly care about. It's about trying to score cheap political points against your opponents and not being able to apply the same level of critique against people whom you agree with.

First off, whenever the president plays golf, it's no big deal. The presidency is a job that is 24/7 and all your aides and staff are always within five minutes of you contacting them. Ronald Reagan said it best. When asked about staying at his ranch in California he said "I'm the president no matter where I am." He was exactly right. If a crisis breaks out and the president is playing golf or at his/her ranch, believe me, they'll know what happens within five minutes and they'll be able to make the decisions they need to.

So, another idiotic meme about Trump golfing while the world "falls apart" is making it's rounds on Facebook. I'm not surprised by this. When Obama golfed while the world "fell apart" the left was quiet. While Trump golfs, the right will be quiet. In reality, both sides complaining about the president golfing are signifiers of how we never apply the same critique of our own views that we do of views that we disagree with. Before we start screaming about what a politician who we disagree with does, we should ask ourselves "If a politician I liked did this, how would I feel?" It's actually a good way to think when it comes to politics.

Album of the weekend

Three Days Grace-Self titled

This album is darker than people give it credit for. Frequent references to drug abuse, dislike and distrust of authority-am I saying it's like a gritty Dead Kennedys album? Of course not, but it's a little more intense than your average early millennium alt-rock band.

It's really good too. I think Three Days Grace are among the better bands from that era even though they aren't very popular. They took the grunge sound that ended in the 90's and gave it a quick revival. The music from that era was dominated by Korn and Limp Bizkit-bands that, love them or hate them, were not grunge or alternative sounding. Three Days Grace provides a different sound than what was popular at that time period. 

Mayweather vs McGregor

The MMA fighter Conor McGregor has agreed to fight Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match. I'm not sure why people are excited about this-I'm a big boxing fan but this fight has absolutely no appeal to me. I'm not much of an MMA fan, so I'm going to focus on Mayweather.

Floyd Mayweather is one of the best boxers of all time. His skill and ability puts him in my top ten boxers ever.   Because of his punk behavior and arrogant attitude combined with a general decline in the popularity of boxing he's not a very popular or admired athlete. His style of boxing isn't exciting for the average/casual fan-he's not a brawler-so that also effects his popularity. Putting that aside-the way he fights in the boxing ring is borderline poetic.

He's beaten everyone that has challenged him. An undefeated boxing record is incredibly impressive. Sadly though, he can't beat aging. He's getting up there in years he also hasn't fought in a long time. Luckily, he's a boxer fighting in a boxing match-and I'm not sure that Conor McGregor is ready for that. Boxing is a skill set and it's a totally different game than MMA fighting.

The promotion for this fight has crossed the line from "entertainment" to "offensive". Yes, I admit that just because I'm taking offense to it doesn't mean I expect everyone else to, and yes, you have every right to call me thin skinned. However, racial/homosexual slurs are not appropriate in any context. Usually, I don't expect class from boxers and MMA fighters (there are exceptions) but this crosses the line on many ways.  There are also rumors that the two men flew on the same private jet for promotional tours. This "fight" is more of a circus than most boxing matches are. 

Scaramucci is out in the White House

After getting divorced because he went to work for Trump, Scaramucci (the former White House communications director) is being reassigned and removed from his job. The turnover that the White House is going through right now is bordering on the absurd. Some of us saw it coming. While we didn't think Trump would win the election (and yes, we were wrong) we did see that Trump would have a hard time adjusting from business to government.

A good rule of thumb in politics is to ask yourself, "If someone I disagree with acted like this, how would I feel?" I think it is one hundred percent obvious that if Obama had this kind of turnover people like myself who lean to the right would be saying something is seriously wrong in DC. Yes, we know something is seriously wrong in DC already ha ha ha, but this is getting out of hand. I can't imagine the moral at the White House right now. If everyone is on edge and no one is comfortable in their jobs, it certainly doesn't add to a comforting work environment.

I'm placing bets that the next guy/girl in won't be investing in the government retirement program.

Caitlyn Jenner for senate?

First we had Kid Rock thinking of/deciding to run for senate in Michigan, and now there is chatter about Caitlyn Jenner running for senate in California. I think it'll be a big step for the LGBT community to have a politician be openly LGBT, but even in California, I think we are a few election cycles away.

First off, let's talk about the elephant (get the pun?) in the room. Jenner is a republican, and 99.9% of the LGBT community is democratic. I don't blame the LGBT community for being anti-republican. The gay marriage issue brought many to the democratic side and the democrats played it like a fiddle, sort of like how the republicans use pro-lifers to their political advantage.  So Jenner being a republican (which I've said before, is incredibly brave of her) might be an issue for the LGBT community.

It's also an issue for republicans. Establishment party republicans who are against Jenner running in this case are not terribly bright. In case they haven't noticed, California isn't exactly friendly to the republican party. If the democrats ran the remains of Osama Bin Laden for senate against Jesus Christ of the GOP, your new senator from California would not be our Lord and Savior.  Jenner might have her problems (and she does, nothing to do with her being transgender) but if she can win a brutal primary she might have a shot of just losing the general, instead of losing in a landslide.