College Football, Not Enough Math Majors

The recent uproar about conference movement ended with anly a few itinerant programs making a mockery of conference titles.

The big Ten, which has had eleven teams for about 20 years, added Nebraska making it rightfully the Big Twelve. The Big 12 lost the aforementioned Huskers to the Big Ten plus one, making it rightfully the Big Twevle.

Who can blame the respective conference commishes getting lost and going to the wrong annual meetings. The Presidents too, and the athletic directors. OMG, what if Nebraska accidentally shows up at Columbus for a game against Baylor. And don't forget Colorado. They will be moving to the former PAC 10. Except Colorado will be the eleventh team.

The naming convention needs some work. Here we go.

The PAC 10 is easy. Throw out all the accuracy.

Call it the Big Whatever Dude. The Big Ten, which has had eleven teams for at least 15 years and now has twelve teams, with Notre Dame continuing to play the hot babe in the bar, now has twelve. They are the Big Twelve East. These guys need to sit down, break bread together , on their knees, go to confession together, and admit they lust after the Fighting Irish.

The Big Twelve, which lost two teams so far, is herein after called the Big Bogus Ten West, at least for now. Although the above sounds a little fun, there is a serious possibility hanging around. Money drives this re-alignment. Money means TV. TV means market size. Market size is a complication that bears remembering. SOme markets are occupied by lower division teams. SMU and TCU in Dallas Ft. Worth. UH in Houston. Utah and BYU in the area. Central Florida in Orlando and East Carolina in North Carolina. Markets the big boys would covet. Some existing teams in major conferences are in small markets. Baylor in Waco for one.

Fun's over guys. This piece started out having fun. It ends with a serious waring for sports fans. College football is still waiting on more change. If money is the root of all evil, then college football could become a den of good men versus the
lustful.

Whose the captain of this ship?

The mayor and the city counsel are supposed to be an asset tp the city, not collective &^*!#&. They are the executive and legislative branches of the city government. They are nine men and a woman who have authority. They can lead Tulsa in everything from trash to economic development (spelled JOBS). Look at these samples of commeraderie.

June 16, 2010 -

"Attorneys for a majority of city councilors filed on Friday a motion in Tulsa County District Court to dismiss a civil lawsuit alleging the council violated the Open Meetings Act.

The motion states that the three citizens, who filed the lawsuit, do not have the right to do so because the cause is of criminal nature."

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=14&articleid=20100723_11_0_Attorn343696&rss_lnk=11

July 27, 2010 -

But potential charges against Bartlett and Simonson or the lawsuit against the council should be separate discussions, they said.
Councilor John Eagleton, with whom Bullock did not meet, agreed.
“I don’t know how you repair a toxic relationship like what we have,” he said.
Bynum has suggested that the council and mayor meet to resolve their issues, and Christiansen said he met with Bartlett weeks ago for the same reason.

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=16&articleid=20100727_11_0_LusBlo626547&rss_lnk=11

"Toxic"?, "potential charges against Barlett and Simonson"?, citizens suing the counsel?, "attorneys for a majority of city councilors"?

Let's ask this question. Would any company thinking about coming to Tulsa, while doing the normal due diligance locate in Tulsa? Certainly they would think twice about walking in to a city that has leadership that works against itself, even to the extent of employing lawyers against each other. Who coes that hurt?

Everone in the city looking for a job. Not only will this mitigate against jobs for residents of Tulsa, it will cause everyone to think about moving to greener employment pastures. How does that sound Mr. sales tax base>

Adrift in a sea of more qualifed people

Unemployment is a common phenomenom in today's economy.

There are three competing philosphies.

One focuses on personal contacts. According one expert I talked to, "everyone has 2,000 acquaintances." You contact them, get an appointmentfor 10 to 15 minutes and give them a sales pitch about yourself. THE PITCH can be no longer than three minutes.

Two focuses on the internet. Get on Facebook, write a blog, go to many job websites, find website of favorite companies, websites of headhunters (the human ones, not the meanies who dine on some of our closest friends). Get your name out in cyberspace.

The third, crawl in a hole and die (a Glen Beck favorite).

The truth is you are only as effective as that to which you are commited. If you're comfortable cold calling, jump in to number one. If you are an internet wizard and you have the hardware, assert yourself with the second option. Option number three is in this for "comic relief".

The biggest tools are dedication and patience. This economy is not producing new jobs. You're going to have to displace soneone who was retired, fired, or just got lazy. That takes time and luck. Find an opening at the exact right time, and impress the person in front of you asking questions you hadn't thought of. And take break each to watch "The Rifleman" play video games, play chess, etc. Eight hours a day will only make tired.

Called on the Presidential Carpet

Sometime today, President Barrack Obama will meet with the governor of Arizona. He will "discuss" the new immigration law with said state executive. No publicity will be allowed.

Interesting tactic. Arizona passes a law that is identical to federal law. Arizona is a state directly bordering Mexico. Along with California, Texas, and a smattering of New Mexico, four states have a southern and common border with Mexico. A second tier of states, Colorado, Utah, Oklahoma, and Nevada, have common borders with the first group. That's eight states that have an interest in Mexican border control which is the responsibility of the Federal government.

Successive administrations, both Republican and Democrat, have demurred from closing that border effectively. The idea of a fence is good, but can be torn down. A wall would be better, but with the federal budget hemorrhaging bi-partisan support is unlikely and the Democrats certainly aren't going to spend their time passing that bill. So, it falls to the states that want their borders controlled to handle the problem. That's all Arizona is doing.

Actually, the interpretation of "border" is what I have a problem with. Why just the southern border of Arizona and the first tier state southern borders? If the second tier states seek to protect their borders with the pirmary four states (Arizona, etc.), the journey for illegals becomes longer and less manageable. Fewer illegal aliens can make that journey.

Watch the future activties of all eight states. The remaining seven could go a long way towards solving the problem together. How many of the seven states besides Arizona have non Democrat governors?

Much ado about a hole

Tulsa city and county has reached a milestone. History's first sinkhole in the metro area. Oklahoma City doesn't have a sinkhole. Muskogee doesn't have a sinhole. OU and OSU can't claim sinkholes. THis is the first sinhole in either Conference USA or the Big 12. This could be bigger than the BOK Center interms of publicity. And the Oklahoma Department of Transportation is going to fill in and cover up our tourist attraction.

What about the term? It didn't sink, the highway did. Is it a hole? No, it wasn't dug by any man made piece of equipment. How do we label this thing? I think we ought to admit our cirmstances and just call it a "highway flop". That's more accurate. Something flopped in to a void beneath it. What fell in to the void was the highway. Of course, then I wouldn't have anything to grich about this morning.

The evolution of ............Government?

In the book of Matthew (the American Standard Version), chapter 25, verses 41-45, Jesus says the following:
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 for I was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink;
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least, ye did it not unto me.

We live in an era where correcting social and economic problems is an imperative. Going all the way back to my childhood, when segregation was an evil that had to be cured, we have relied on to government programs to effect social change. Hunger, homelessness, unequal education, unequal access to employment, and now medical care all are now or have been on the government's agenda for resolution in one way or another. Whether the individual has abdicated his or her personal responsibilty as prescribed by Jesus above, or an action agenda has been usurped by politicians seeking a permanent majority is arguable. Whatever the case, the result in today's political process is a loud call for a solution from the government outward to "recipients" in specific problem situations.


In the parable of the prodigal son, who was it that took the prodigal in after he came home? The prodigal's father. One man, head of one family. Fathers take care of your babies. Mothers support the fathers. Children pitch in to help your family members. Brothers, sisters, circle the wagons and incomes to lift up a family member. Not communes but community within the family. Not one giant national family but neighbor to neighbor. If the above statement cited above from the book of Matthew was followed today by the nation's citizen's in large numbers, as indivuals, in our daily lives, how many homeless would there be? Would we need food stamps?

Take the same admonition and hand it to our lawmakers. What are their options? Speak out about the problem in public. Use their individual bully pulpits to raise awareness. That's called campaigning or lip service. Then proceed to legislation which in the past has created departments of people managing the act of government giving according to prescribed rules. All of which is supported by tax dollars. In an era of increasing deficits, this is the ultimate conflict. How can you cut these government distrbutions that are so well intended?

"One of these least" (ASV) or "one of the least of these" (NIV) refers to individual needs. Over a period of years we have gotten out of the sense of community that had us caring for the poor or afflicted person to person. Which is more efficient, a large population and their resources pitching in to help the less fortunate or a government program manged by narrowly focused hard fast rules and a human bureaucracy?

As time goes on, we get used to government taking care of "the least of these". There is a government program to address the problem so we can put it out of our mind. Citizenship and charity on the part of the individual are diminished, government is bigger and more expensive. As voters, or non voters, the citizens are responsible for oversite of the elected officials. It is the voters and eligable non voters that have relinquished authority to care for "the least of these". The voters because they have elected majorities over the years that have engaged in the spending on well intentioned but poorly concieved and managed programs. The eligable non voters because they didn't show up at the polls. In the above Bible passage, we are all admonished to help the less fortunate than us. Is it better to be a society of 350 million helpers or a nation of regulations that try to drive the society?

Getting Blistered on a Job Search

In the old days, looking for a job used to be referred to as pounding the pavement. You actually called people, announced yourself, made appointments for specific jobs, went to businesses, talked to humans and differentiated yourself face to face. Today, you log on, point and click, post resumes, and wait and wait. Or you meet people at random, let them know you want to move, hand them a business card, and hope and pray they remember you when they hear about a position or have them open themselves. Today you get a lot less exercise, a lot less wear and tear on the feet and a lot more uncertainty.

Max Lucado published a small booklet in 2009 called "Fear Less - Trust More". On page three he writes "Can the safety lover do anything great? Can the risk averse accomplish noble deeds?" The unemployed are pursuing a "noble deed". Not just to get a job, but to maintain their self determination, to support themselves. Too often the average person does not see nobility in what they do day to day. So when they lose that particular job, not by their own decision and planning, it becomes an emotional drain. Since it has negative consequences, loss of income, there must be fault. Since "I am the one who lost the job, it must be my fault. Since its my fault, I must be deficient. There is no nobility in me."

Many jobs are risk avoidance. Its a paycheck for sure, and its reliable. It pays the bills so we take that as security. When we lose the job, we lost security and that has to be bad. Two negatives we pile on ourselves. And here comes the risk, the stress, and the misplaced blame. We have had an increase in risk heaped on us without our consent, which is an opportunity to accomplish a noble deed, employment, not a black hole in securing the next job. The time we find a new job is uncertain. But the nobility is in the constant pursuit, not just the actual accomplishment. We are not diminished with each day that goes by without an offer.

Lucado's statement does not lead us to award championship trophies for just showing up. It tells us that every hour or day spent in the pursuit of work is noble. The pursuit is what we should take pride in, not drudge through as punishment. Looked at in this perspective, we are fully employed (as the saying goes) in the job hunt. That employment is worthwhile and honorable. Even if it requires less shoe leather than it used to, and more waiting and surfing than we like.