The Buffett Rule: Politically Dishonest Gamesmanship

Don't you feel sorry for President Obama and the other millionaires who didn't earn income from long term capital gains last year? Unless you have been living under a rock for the past couple of days, Mitt Romney released his tax returns from 2010. Can you believe he had an effective tax rate of 13.9 percent on income of $21.7 million? He must be cheating the system. Just how can Romney pay that low of a tax rate while the rest of us hard working Americans pay much higher rates of 20, 25, or even 30 percent?

Scapegoats and Cyber Toughness

I was in Orlando, FL yesterday as I took in about 3/4 of the Texans/Ravens game. Duty called as my stepdaughter was competing in UDA Nationals for Cal State Fullerton. They won their 11th national title in Division 1 Jazz Dance. What, you don't think I can tie dance and football together? Keep reading. They are a cohesive team consisting of 16 total members. They "start" 10 freshmen who have never appeared on the big stage before. This is the showcase that ESPN airs in the spring. This is the March Madness of Dance. This is the BCS of Dance. These national titles are recognized in Titan Gym on campus at Fullerton. If your daughter (or son) dances for a top-tier university, they want to be on ESPN's recap of the competition. In essence, you have arrived as a dancer collegiately if this can be realized. The girls have practiced tirelessly for about two months. Rehearsing the same routine over and over again. Striving for perfection. They sacrificed partying with their sorority friends to accomplish the goal that they set for themselves this past spring when the team was formed. There are no perfect dances, mind you. Fullerton scored 95/100, to obliterate their closest competitor by more than three points. This is a VERY large margin of victory in the dance competition world. So, where am I going with all of this? Follow along...

Roll Tide: Take Two

Every summer, college football teams gather in camps across the country to ready themselves with the hope of achieving their goals. Most teams have goals that build upon one another. I imagine they look something like this:

1. Win Division if member of conference with a championship game
2. Win conference championship game (if Big 12, win conference)
3. Win BCS title game/bowl game

Logically, these goals build upon one another. It makes sense that a team needs to accomplish an earlier goal to acquire the opportunity to achieve a latter goal. Essentially, you cannot head out and run a marathon without obtaining some smaller goals leading up to the main event. Enter Bill Hancock, the BCS, politics and the above is not necessary any longer.