A Response to SJU's Annual Fund Request

Dear Director of Annual Giving,

This is going to be a very tough letter to write.

I received your request for the Annual Fund today, the day after the election.  Your timing could not be worse.

Annette Atkins' letter to the StarTribune of October 1, 2012  has absolutely stuck in my craw since it was published.  Should she choose to support an administration so openly hostile to the Catholic faith on her own time and under her own name, fine.  However, St. John's was involved in her commentary, and as a Catholic and as an alumni, I find that completely unacceptable.

I am growing apart from St. John's, and what a horrible shame.  I've reached out through the alumni network (a nightmare of a system) to help prospective or existing students, and have never been contacted.  My company hires dozens of college grads every year, yet no outreach.  In the meantime, the University of Minnesota, where I received my MBA, has, in the past two years, traveled to meet with me twice here in Green Bay (once last week), has invited me to speak to their classes, and is begging me to support their internship and hiring programs.

The funny thing is - I have ZERO affinity for the Carlson School.  It never compared to the life-changing experience I had while at St. John's, and as such I've never contributed to them financially.  I've only volunteered.

I know you don't have the U's resources, nor do I feel it necessary for you to take the steps they do.  But when my only contact with you is when you ask for money, when you send me your magazine, and when I follow the football team - which is getting worse and worse, as St. Thomas ascends - I'm losing touch.  Especially when one of those interactions is from a former professor of mine wading into a divisive political argument in a major newspaper.

My wife and I won't be cutting St. John's a check today.  We may not do it this year.  I'm not sure when or if we'll start again.  As stated, your timing is horrible.  Perhaps I'll get over things, but right now, I'm quite angry.

And right now, the answer to your appeal is no, thank you.

YDP, Class of '83

Congratulations, President Obama

Congratulations, President Obama.  Your victory last night was stunning, and it is a total game changer for our country.  

You ran an effective campaign, and there is so much of which you should be proud:  

• Congratulations for running a campaign that completely ignored your last four years, and one that went on offense.  One that at the same time blamed your predecessor for things not getting better, and demonized your opponent as someone that would only make things worse in the future.  And all the while, you were never held accountable for any of your results.  Or lack thereof.  Simply brilliant.  
• Congratulations for co-opting the national media.  Never before in my lifetime has the media been so partisan; from overt things like actively cheering for you at debates to much more subtle, but dangerous things like refusing to ask you about your failings except in the most cursory an token ways.  In fact, as it pertained to Benghazi, they actively helped to bury the story for you.  They are your most powerful political weapon, and they should be equally congratulated for your reelection.  You are as much their creation as you are yourself.  
• Congratulations as well for changing the presidency from one that is sober, businesslike, and aspirational to one that now serves as clown and entertainer.  From story after story about you in the grocery store magazines, to your dozens and dozens of appearances on TV entertainment shows, you remolded the presidency to a high school popularity contest.  Who wants to vote for a boring white guy when they can have someone that dances with Ellen, slow-jams the news with Jimmy Kimmel, is eye-candy for the ladies watching The View, and sings a damn good version of Al Green?  
• Congratulations for dividing our country so well.  Your demagoguery of the rich and successful in our society was played perfectly.  Everybody hates them, and you tapped into that hatred so well.  Also, your effective "war on women" meme was believed,  adopted and embraced, even by men!  It successfully rendered women more concerned about the ability to abort their children than they were about the debt their non-aborted children will inherit.   In an election that should have been all about the economy, you created an environment that made it anything but.  
• Finally, and most importantly, congratulations for killing off conservatism.  If liberalism could not be beaten after your last four years, it will never be beaten.  And by the end of your next term, economics and demographics will be such that it will secure democratic presidents for the foreseeable future, or at least until the economy finally implodes.  Think about it - key democratic constituencies will only grow over the next four years, as the ranks of seniors, Hispanics, other minorities, unmarried women, the non-religious, and other liberal mainstays will substantively grow, if not explode.  Likewise, the trend of growth of those receiving some kind of government payment should continue completely unabated over the next four years.  Be they seniors, the unemployed, students, those on food stamps, those receiving Obama phones, those on disability, or those holding a government job, all areas are growing and will not stop.  By the time your next term is over, these groups will make up a sizable majority of our country.  And they will never, ever vote republican. The hand that feeds them is a democratic one, and that hand will not be bitten.   Liberalism has won, through your programs and your actions, and the ramifications have left your political opponents vanquished. And that, President Obama, will leave our country indelibly changed.  The America of our fathers and forefathers - one of industry, personal responsibility, achievement - that America is now finally dead, and a new America rises.  One of class envy, division, entitlement, and debt.  One where government now exists for the sole reason of income distribution and to "care for its citizens."  Indeed, the liberal utopia that rises will not, cannot, be defeated.  There are now and will be too many voters that will choose to propagate it.  The tipping point has been reached.  It is over.  

Congratulations again Mr. President.  Your campaign strategy and execution was impeccable.   The demographic and entitlement winds are now firmly at your back.  The media will continue to ensure that the historical narrative to eventually be written about you will not be tarnished.   TV show hosts and popular culture icons will continue to fawn over you.  And just like with the first four years, you'll not be held accountable for ANYTHING you do.  

Enjoy your state dinners, your Hawaii vacations, your TV appearances, and your hundreds of rounds of golf and your remaking of America.  Given the success of your campaign, you've clearly earned them.       

Tired of the Campaign

Regardless of the outcome or the candidate you support, we all feel like this little girl.



Now get out there and vote and get this thing over with, already...

Football Weekend

After last weekend's extended hunting with my southern kin, I took off hunting this weekend to try and get my life back in order.  I got a ton of work done - over 7 hours on Saturday, and another 3 on Sunday - which went a long way to getting me caught up.

But beyond work, there was football.  It started with the Irish paying Pitt in a triple-overtime gut-wrench.   Notre Dame was not prepared to play, made multiple mistakes, and deserved to lose.    In fact, four different times I got off the couch saying,  "It's over," only to be called back to the TV for yet another chance for the Golden Domers to hold on.  It was quite a ride, but the sloppy win cost the Irish one position in their overall ranking.

After that, LSU and Alabama faced off in an excellent game.  I felt LSU did not have as good of a team this year as they have in previous years, and they gave the Crimson Tide all they could handle and then some on Saturday night.  The Tigers are very good this year, and worthy of their ranking.

Who knows, maybe we're looking at a LSU / Notre Dame bowl game.  Cousins, you ready for a road trip?

On Sunday we had tickets to the work suite at Lambeau.  There was a really nice tribute the the military as part of the National Anthem:

This season Lambeau added a Party Deck - akin to the Budweiser Party Deck at Target Field, but not as nice.  The deck can only be accessed by suite and club patrons, and it offered a pretty unique view of the field:

 Here's my lovely wife who watched all of this football with me this weekend:

We left the Packer game early to meet up with our Vikings Fan Club in Green Bay.  Unfortunately, the Purple played poorly.  Despite a monster game by Adrian Peterson, really poor quarterback play killed them again.  It is looking more and more like Ponder is not an NFL quarterback - he lacks field vision and the ability to extend the ball down the field.  While I hate to rebuild AGAIN, it looks to me like we clearly need to do something different at QB.  And, no, Joe Webb is not the answer.

We ended the day, departing from the bar in which we watch the Vikings game, to the smug comments of some sloppy-drunk Packers fans.  Normally, their comments would have elicited a response from me, but by this time it was 6:00PM, and given the Pack had a noon kick off and that these clowns were likely tailgating for three hours prior, it made no sense.  I'm old enough to know not to argue, or fight, with idiots on a nine hour drunk.

I am SO waiting for December 2...

Latest Update on Book

Here's the latest on It's, It's a Dog Named Blitz...

• Final edit has been completed!  I'm so lucky to have access to some incredible resources
• All content for the book jacket cover has been developed.  It is now in the hands of an incredible designer, and I hope to see an "in progress" version soon
• Unfortunately, the formatting functionality of Lulu.com is a nightmare.  After struggling through troubles related to a dated version of Word that I'm using, I decided to punt and leverage their professional services.  While not cheap ($300), it should leave me with a book that looks quite finished and professional.
• I've determined that I will be donating any profits that the book generates to the following:
• The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration: theaftd.org
• The Alzheimer's Association: alz.org

While I fully expect this book to do nothing in terms or generating any revenue, in the rare event that it does, some great organizations stand to benefit.  

I'll continue to keep you posted...

The Difference This Tuesday

Mitt Romney makes it pretty clear:




Hat tip to House-Baby

Bruno Mars on SNL

I'm not a big Bruno Mars fan.  While I admire his talent, his genre tends to run too much in the pop category for my taste.  However, last week he served the dual role as host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live, and my impression of him changed.

Attached is a video of one of his musical performances:




A couple things of note:

• Real horns.  Who has real horns anymore?  Outstanding
• Look how the band is an active part of the act.  It is rare for a front-man to be so confident in his own capabilities to allow such a configuration
• Could these guys be having any more fun?  That joy is exactly what having a good time with music is all about.  It sucks you in, and the next thing you know you're smiling and tapping your foot.  Infectious.  Makes you want to be up on the stage with those guys, hopping around.  

This was an old-school performance that had me immediately downloading the song from iTunes.  Really fun stuff.  

Hat tip to CO

Political Leanings at Lambeau

At last Sunday's game, an unscientific review of the crowd revealed a couple of things:

• Folks at Lambeau know how to schweel
• There is passion for the Packers
• There is equal passion for Romney.  Not as much for Obama.
• Folks really know how to schweel