Us too

My first impression on reading this story was, "cool idea."

My second impression was, we need something like that here. Instead of water pumps, can't we hook up a few kids directly to a generator? Slap a few ads on the kids to generate some revenue, just for the heck of it, and send them out to play.

I think this idea has potential. Cheap, renewable energy and maybe a solution to the childhood obesity problem to boot.

I like it.

A Better Invocation of Reagan

Last week, Barack Obama invoked the memory of Ronald Reagan. Big mistake. Not because of what Obama said, but because no matter what he said, it was sure to be misconstrued.

Either way, if Obama was going to raise the spectre of Reagan, he would have done better to quote Reagan's 11th amenmdent, appropriately modified: Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Democrat.

He might have done Reagan one better and added, "Stick to the issues!" Hillary's and Barack's back-and-forth jabs are silly and distracting. Stop it already!

And while we're on the topic of distracting, the former prez needs to banish the orange tie to the back of the closet, or better yet, the trash bin. Orange is for clowns, jack-o-lanterns, and traffic cones.

Hillary's stock would go up immediately if she would show some leadership on this issue.

Random thoughts on a hot button issue

If I were to ask who benefits from affirmative action or preferential college admissions, I'd bet thatthe majority of respondents would answer either racial and ethnic minorities or women.

And at the risk of over-generalizing, I'd bet that many who oppose affirmative action or preferential admissions favor merit-based decisions, based on objective measures, like SAT, GPA, etc.

This clip from the NBC Nightly News talks of another group that may in fact be beneficiaries of preferential ttreatment, namely men. Some colleges are lowering their admissions standards for men in an attempt to close the gender gap.

So, my random thoughts:

1. Affirmative action is always difficult to discuss because it means different things to different people. I assume that all of the men selected are "qualified" notwithstanding their SATs or GPAs. In other words, the preference is exercised to select from a pool of individuals, all of whom are qualifed. That one applicant may have scored 30 points higher on the SAT or accomplished a GPA 2/10 of a point higher than the next person doesn't make that applicant necessarily "more qualifed" such that it is wrong or even unfair to choose the one whose numbers are lower.

2. The concept of preferential treatment for men probably challenges the views of many on the whole issue.

3. It's official: now everyone is preferred somewhere. One just has to find the school where their gender or race or ethnicity, etc. is under-represented.

4. Many minorities can tell of the times when someone, based on scant evidence, assumed that they were admitted only because of affirmative action. Will men, particularly white men, start to have similar experiences?

5. I agree with what the colleges are doing. The environment in which one learns is important for all concerned.

Remembering MLK

Today is the actual birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. One of my favorite quotes by Dr. King is as follows:

"Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?' Vanity asks the question, 'Is it popular?' But, conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?' And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because one's conscience tells one that it is right."

That's a powerful quote. How much better would the country, indeed the world, be if all sought to do the right thing.

Time to hang up the cleats for another year . . .

So the Cowboys lost today. I'm sort of sad, but I also kind of don't care. Despite the 'boys having one of the best seasons in recent years, the whole NFL Channel controversy has cooled my passion for professional football overall, and that includes the Cowboys.

The Cowboys will always be my favorite team--I don't see that changing ever. And I'll always root against the Packers. But despite the various claims flying between the cable companies and the NFL owners, no one cares more about me, the common fan, than they care about squeezing every last dime out of the business. So, I don't care.

I'll watch the Superbowl. I may even care about the outcome, but not much.

And the answer is . . .

The Breakfast Club. John Bender, the "criminal" has some of the best lines of the movie. I can't believe it (nor The Karate Kid) made the AFI's top 100 movies. Unbelievable.

Name that movie

"Hey, how come Andrew gets to get up? If he gets up, we'll all get up, it'll be anarchy. "

Do you know the movie in which that line was uttered? You're welcome to put your anwer in the comments or keep it to yourself. Either way, I'll post the answer tomorrow night.

This is a true story--really

Apparently, if you don't actually declare that your story is true, you're allowed to tell a story. That's the explanation of the mother who wrote a compelling, but false, essay to win Hannah Montana concert tickets, as described here. What a witch! And her defense that "we never said it was true" that the child's dad died in an Iraq roadside attack is no defense at all. The mom has since apologized.

I can understand wanting to give your child something that she so dearly wants. And having an 8 year old, I can sort of understand the Hannah Montana phenomenon, although the mere thought of Miley Cyrus (who plays Hannah Montana) reminds me of Billy Ray, which reminds me of Achy Breaky Heart, and I'd rather eat a bowl of glass than have that song stuck in my head. But how a mother can fail to see the myriad wrongs with her scheme until she was busted is beyond me, and makes me sad for the child who has an excellent chance of growing up confused about the difference between truth and fiction, right and wrong, etc.

The continuing drama of the writers' strike (snore)

Forget Alien vs. Predator. The late night shows return tonight, notwithstanding the ong0ing Writers' Guild strike. As described here, Letterman cut a separate deal with the Guild, so he will actually have writers and his show will carry on the same as always. Leno, on the other hand, will have no writers and will be limited in what he can do during the show.

So, who will the viewing public choose? If Letterman is a smashing success and Leno continues to lose viewers, will that put pressure on NBC suits to settle with the writers? Will A-list celebs cross the line to be on Leno? Does anyone really care one way or the other?

I asked about a month ago whether unions still have any relevance. I got some interesting responses from my Labor Law students. Most who responded believed that unions were still relevant although there were different ideas about which industries held promise for unions in the future.

I do believe that unions have and will continue to have relevance. However, I believe that the union officials will have to think more realistically and innovatively to accomplish the traditional union goals of job security, top wages and benefits, and safety. I also believe that unions in general need to do a better job on the PR front to be more attractive to younger workers who seemingly see little need for a union if they do not hail from union families.

Superstitions and resolutions

We've had our black-eyed peas. I think BoilerHusband was the first to come through the front door, and he qualifies as dark-haired and good-looking in my book. So I think The BoilerFamily is in good shape for the coming year.

As for resolutions, to the usual list of eating better; being more patient with slow drivers; taking more naps, etc., I add one more: to be more faithful in writing on my blog.

But the most important resolution: to enjoy the present and be thankful for it.

Happy New Year.