(post #998) Road Apples, #106

Screw the blogging holiday...I just can't keep away for all that long, despite the best of intentions.  Not that I have the time at the moment, but what the hell, I'll make the time.

Munchak and Cordaro...Being out of town I was late getting into the verdict loop for Mr Munchak and Mr Cordaro.  How do I feel?  Should I be somehow "happy" about this whole "justice served" thing?  Well I am not happy about this whole mess.  How could anyone be witness to what has transpired and be anything other than disgusted?  Think about it:

• If they are truly innocent, then ponder just how much power the government actually has to do what has been done here.  A.J. Munchak, given his age, will mostly likely get what amounts to life in prison.  
• If they are truly guilty (which is what I think is the case...there was just too much cash flowing around these guys), then consider just what the political culture is around these parts.  These guys didn't create political corruption around here, they just fed off of it, like starving piglets.  

Lastly, and for what it is worth, this has nothing to do with political affiliation as some (including a brother of mine) have implied.  Both Democrats and Republicans can be corrupt, as money knows no ideology. 

Family News...My oldest daughter is taking a securities industry exam today, and I do wish her good hunting.  She has a degree in education, but thanks to the likes of governor "I hate education" Corbett, school districts across the commonwealth are cutting teaching jobs, not adding them. 

Computer Woes...For the record, I am typing this at the business center of the hotel I find myself staying at.  I would be using my Gateway netbook, but it seems that somehow my screen was damaged in transit, as it now looks like a modern work of art instead of Windows XP.  No bother, as I am always up for a challenge, and the thought of maybe trying to replace the screen myself is intriguing.  I have replaced the LCD screens on cell phones (I did it twice with an old Palm Treo 600 I had years ago), so I'm thinking that, if the part is available, this might be fairly do-able.  How's that for trying to see the silver lining?  If course I do now have the issue of what do without a computer at the residence.  Maybe I should go about fixing the two that are sitting there now, waiting to be repaired.

Congress...recently voted, across party lines, to end Ethanol subsidies.  This his a very good thing.  We need to stop this madness of the government using the tax code for social engineering (such as getting people to use certain products over others).  It does, however, bring up an interesting point:  many Republicans (rightfully) voted to end the subsidies, but yet voting to end a tax break has been described by some party leaders as being the same as voting for a tax increase.  So which is it?  Look for this to come up time and time again as some smart folks begin to truly figure out that the government may be involved in some things that it shouldn't.  Next up:  Let's see some action of getting the government out of the business of encouraging people to own homes.  You should buy a home because you want to own property, feel it is a good investment, etc., not because there are rich tax subsidies associated with it, regardless of the good intentions involved.  Good behavior can not be legislated.

Marijuana...The Odd Couple of Congress, Representatives Barney Frank and Ron (not to be confused with his psychotic son Rand) Paul have introduced a bill to end the federal government's enforcement of anti-marijuana laws.  You can read more about it HERE.  I have mixed feeling about this...

• On one hand marijuana is a drug and it can lead to the use of other drugs.  My own personal opinion is that anything which dulls the senses is bad, and things that make you crave peas and chocolate at 2am are even worse. 
• On the other hand, does anyone actually think that marijuana is any worse than alcohol?  Please, if you disagree, let me know, however I'm of the opinion that all things considered, marijuana is probably less personally detrimental than that case of beer that some folks love to guzzle on Friday night.

By way of disclaimer I will not that (unlike Bill Clinton) I have never tried marijuana and I never will try marijuana.  As noted above, I like my senses fully in tact, which is also one of the reasons why I don't drink alcohol.

Milestone...I'll end this posting by noting that this blog is coming up on it's 1000th posting, so I'll be doing a quick countdown over the next few days.  That's a heaping amount of content, and if you add everything together, the sum of it all might coalesce into maybe one or two decent thoughts.  Regardless, it has been and continues to be fun, and if anything, this past week has proven to me that I have no desire to stop doing this any time soon.