Mister Sinner

Here is the actual news story for the real Mister Sinner...
http://news.aol.com/article/inmate-name-change-sinner/454028

Soy Sale?

The state of California has passed a law that forbids schools from having bake sales for fundraisers. No longer can little Billy or Sarah bring their mommy's cupcakes and snicker doodles to school and sell them for 25 cents so that the math club can afford graphing paper.


When I saw the headline for this story online I tried to think of a reasonable cause for this new law...

Maybe a kid got sick from some undercooked pastry item?
Some teenagers slipped in some "special" brownies as a prank?
Maybe this law is aimed at small businesses not operating with the proper licenses for selling food?

No. None of those are the reason. They passed a law that prevents school children from having bake sales to prevent childhood obesity.

First, I have a huge problem with parents that let their 10 year old tip the scales at 100 pounds. I don't care if it is in their genetics to be obese. Get them outside, skip the trip to McDonald's, and feed them a more balanced meal with fruit and those hated veggies.

Unacceptable. I applaud the California lawmakers for stepping up and realizing that this is an issue, but is outlawing school bake sales really the answer? I'll answer that, it's not. That is idiotic.

Better things to change:

• kid's meals that aren't healthy
• kids not participating in PE (if running makes you out of breath, that's more reason to keep running!)
• video games that will not automatically shut-off after one hour

Mark Cuban's Response

Mark Cuban has a blog (blogmaverick.com) that he uses to address various issues. He has posted a long list of emails he has received in response to the Josh Howard/National Anthem issue. It really opens your eyes to see how ridiculous many people are and also serves as a reminder that e-mail and the Internet are not an excuse to act like an idiot. Someone might just post it on a blog for everyone to see.

http://blogmaverick.com/ (contains quite a bit of foul language in the emails)

"I don't celebrate that ****. I'm black."

“The Star-Spangled Banner's going on right now and I don't celebrate that s**t. I'm black.’’ – Josh Howard

If you would like, you can see the YouTube video of the Mavs forward, Josh Howard, at Allen Iverson's celebrity charity softball game this summer saying the above phrase to a camera during the pre-game playing of the National Anthem. Link here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1llOTCAyf0 (Warning - it's graphic - Josh is at about the 1:40 mark)

There are numerous ways that this statement is idiotic. Here are just a few:

• Josh needs to know that at his level of celebrity, you just can't act like an idiot. In the past 4 months Josh has repeatedly voiced his "right" to smoke pot; participated in street-racing on public streets during his youth basketball camp; disregarded his bosses orders to not throw a party during a playoff series; and now this comment during the National Anthem.


• If Josh was trying to be funny, he needs to know that comedians have a few unwritten rules they must live by. 1) They must be funny. 2) Some people can tell certain jokes that others can't i.e. Chris Rock can tell jokes that Jay Leno can't. Right or Wrong, that's just the way it is. 3) Some topics are just off-limits. i.e. 9/11, abortion, etc.


• Josh seems to be playing the dis-enfranchised black man card. I have no doubt in my mind that there are people in this country that have suffered because of their skin color. Racism does exist. I don't know if Josh has personally encountered this, but for him to not respect the one song that is meant to represent the freedoms that have allowed him to provide for his family seems a little misplaced. Josh Howard has used his gift of basketball skills and hard work to earn a 4 year college education from Wake Forest and a professional career that will pay him over $100 million dollars when it's all said and done. I'm not saying that rich people don't have problems, but it is obvious to me that the freedoms this country has, have given him the opportunity to provide for his children, grand children, their children and grandchildren, and their grandchildren. And also, allow him to street-race on publicly funded roads, avoid prosecution for smoking illegal drugs, and not be fired for disregarding a boss' direct orders.

I won't voice my opinion on what the Mavericks should do with Josh as far as a trade goes right now. But, they definitely need to sit him down and discuss a few simple steps he can take to not be an idiot. I'll do it if they want me to.

Define Mandatory

The news coverage for a much of the last week to ten days has revolved around Hurricanes and the destruction they create. Both Hurricane Gustav in Louisiana and Hurricane Ike here in Texas have resulted in mandatory evacuations for citizens in the path of these storms. Most people listen to this order and get the heck out of dodge. But, of course, there are those that refuse to respect the authority of the government and the authority of the storm heading their way.

Then, emergency response crews have to head in to the area before it is safe and try to rescue these idiots that thought they were invincible. By refusing to evacuate they have put themselves in danger, the rescuers in danger, and force the government to waste resources that could be used getting the gulf coast back to normal quicker.

Just to be sure, I looked it up:

Mandatory = permitting no option; not to be disregarded or modified

When the next hurricane comes and it is a mandatory evacuation, don't be an idiot.