Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Thank the Troops
Found a great website today. Lets all do this for the troops. It only takes a few seconds, and you actually get to do something good for the people that are keeping you safe.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Free Whataburger!!!
Get free Whataburger food! They will send a different coupon everyday from December 2, 2009 through December 24, 2009. All you have to do is enter your e-mail address and zip code.
According to their website, the Baton Rouge locations are 6745 Seigen Ln (in front of Target), and 840 N. Airline Hwy in Gonzales. There are also 2 in Lafayette (Ambassador in front of WalMart; University @ I-10), one in Bossier City, and 5 in Shreveport.
Thanks to mybrtmommy on Twitter for the link!
Enjoy!
http://www.whataburger.com/whataburger_serves/12_days_of_whataburger/
According to their website, the Baton Rouge locations are 6745 Seigen Ln (in front of Target), and 840 N. Airline Hwy in Gonzales. There are also 2 in Lafayette (Ambassador in front of WalMart; University @ I-10), one in Bossier City, and 5 in Shreveport.
Thanks to mybrtmommy on Twitter for the link!
Enjoy!
http://www.whataburger.com/whataburger_serves/12_days_of_whataburger/
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Chicago Transit CEO Hired to Tackle CATS
The Advocate is reporting today that Brian Williams, the former manager of the Chicago Transit Authority's North District has been hired to run CATS, or the Capital Area Transit Authority. The CATS Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to hire Williams.
This sounds like a good move for Baton Rouge. For far too long, this city has been run as if it were some little backwoods town out in the middle of nowhere. Thanks to our booming economy (relatively speaking) and a semi-recent situation involving our neighbor to the East, we have become the economic engine of the state of Louisiana. We no longer have to luxury of sitting back and watching the world pass us by. We ARE the world now, as far as Louisiana is concerned.
Williams has stated that his main priorities will be "securing dedicated funding for the bus system and increasing the number of riders." This, along with increasing the number of bus routes, is crucial for any city. Transportation is one of the key components that companies look at when deciding what city to move into, and infrastructure (of which transportation is a part) is one of the key components to anything that is done by a city. Increased travel time decreases everything else. Productive time at work is lost, time that should be spent with the family is spent sitting in traffic, and money that should be spent on vacations and home renovations are spent instead on gasoline and auto repairs. More people in buses means less people on the road, and that mean less traffic.
The efficiency of buses will also allow us to have a more efficient workforce. The more people that we can easily move around the city, the larger the pool of applicants employers have to choose from. If I am hiring, I will pick the best person for the job, regardless of whether he drives or takes the bus. But if the bus route is three miles away from my office, I will have to settle for the one that I know I will be able to depend on, which means that the bus route is not an option.
The only problem that I see is finding permanent funding. A city the size of Baton Rouge is in a tough spot: We are big enough to have many expensive needs, but not big enough to pay for it all. If we lived in Houston we would not have as much of a problem. They are in the process of building a multi-billion dollar light rail system to supplement the other massive transportation systems. But, they have the money. We cannot look to our larger neighbors and emulate them, as we must live within our means. Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's transportation systems. Bet you didn't know that was in the Bible!
This should be a good move for CATS. Someone with this kind of expertise has the potential to be very good for our city. Hopefully he will live up to his credentials.
This sounds like a good move for Baton Rouge. For far too long, this city has been run as if it were some little backwoods town out in the middle of nowhere. Thanks to our booming economy (relatively speaking) and a semi-recent situation involving our neighbor to the East, we have become the economic engine of the state of Louisiana. We no longer have to luxury of sitting back and watching the world pass us by. We ARE the world now, as far as Louisiana is concerned.
Williams has stated that his main priorities will be "securing dedicated funding for the bus system and increasing the number of riders." This, along with increasing the number of bus routes, is crucial for any city. Transportation is one of the key components that companies look at when deciding what city to move into, and infrastructure (of which transportation is a part) is one of the key components to anything that is done by a city. Increased travel time decreases everything else. Productive time at work is lost, time that should be spent with the family is spent sitting in traffic, and money that should be spent on vacations and home renovations are spent instead on gasoline and auto repairs. More people in buses means less people on the road, and that mean less traffic.
The efficiency of buses will also allow us to have a more efficient workforce. The more people that we can easily move around the city, the larger the pool of applicants employers have to choose from. If I am hiring, I will pick the best person for the job, regardless of whether he drives or takes the bus. But if the bus route is three miles away from my office, I will have to settle for the one that I know I will be able to depend on, which means that the bus route is not an option.
The only problem that I see is finding permanent funding. A city the size of Baton Rouge is in a tough spot: We are big enough to have many expensive needs, but not big enough to pay for it all. If we lived in Houston we would not have as much of a problem. They are in the process of building a multi-billion dollar light rail system to supplement the other massive transportation systems. But, they have the money. We cannot look to our larger neighbors and emulate them, as we must live within our means. Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's transportation systems. Bet you didn't know that was in the Bible!
This should be a good move for CATS. Someone with this kind of expertise has the potential to be very good for our city. Hopefully he will live up to his credentials.
A Balanced Budget Amendment
The body of today's post was originally posted onwww.biggovernment.com. It makes great sense, and I highly recommend that you read it and take action. We have probably gone too far to keep from falling over the edge, but a balanced budget is the best place to start getting our finances under control.
This is not Congress's money, it is ours. We have had to cut back the budgets in our homes, and so now we must cut back the budget in our government. It is not their money to spend. It is ours, and we will no longer let the crooks in Washington blow through it like teenagers with Daddy's credit card!
I also wonder if this would be a good idea for Baton Rouge to look into. Please read on.
I also wonder if this would be a good idea for Baton Rouge to look into. Please read on.
A Balanced Budget Amendment…Before It’s Too Late!
by Timothy MooneyThis week, the US federal debt surpassed the $12 Trillion threshold.
Congress will vote in December to extend America’s indebtedness above $12,100,000,000,000, necessitated because our national debt grew last year by more than $1,400,000,000,000 and will grow this year by $1,400,000,000,000. According to the Obama White House estimates, the national debt will continue to grow by more than $1 trillion for the next nine years. Except it won’t…because it can’t. There just isn’t $9 Trillion to borrow.
For years we’ve heard about the immorality of putting this debt on our grandkids. Forget the grandkids, our economy is at grave risk of collapse right now!
The dollar is in free-fall. The Ponzi scheme Congress calls Social Security is about to collapse. Foreigners are beginning to balk at loaning the US government more money. That grave economic turmoil our debt and deficit will cause in the future? It’s here now.
Beyond threatening our economic security, our national debt is imperiling our national independence. We now owe foreign entities $3.448 Trillion – 28.2% more than just 12 months ago!
Three of the five largest holders of US debt should cause you sleepless nights. We owe China the most, $797 billion — 38.9% more than we did just 12 months ago. We owe Oil Exporting Countries $189.2 billion – 11.5% more than just 12 months ago. And we owe Caribbean Banking Centers (thought to hold billions in narco-terrorist money) $180.2 billion – 35.5% more than just 12 months ago. Japan and the United Kingdom round out the top five foreign debt holders, with our debt to the UK increasing an astonishing 173% in just the last 12 months.
Can we really expect China to increase its lending to the US by nearly 40% next year, and each of the next nine years? Even if it wanted to, the UK doesn’t have the cash to increase its lending to the US by another 173% next year.
Any one of these debt holders could put the US economy in collapse overnight by selling or even just threatening to sell off their US debt holdings.
We owe them…they own us! Clearly, our national independence is in grave risk.
The Federal government also owes Social Security and Medicare $4.5 Trillion. With the economic downturn, Social Security doled out more money than it took from employees’ paychecks for the first time this year. By 2016 – just seven years from now – according to the Social Security Trustees report, Social Security will move from surplus to permanent deficit as the baby boomers retire.
(That “lock-box” presidential candidates like to talk about has never existed. The Social Security ponzi scheme makes Bernie Madoff look like a wayward kid shoplifting a pack of gum.)
If we do not balance the budget by the time Social Security moves to permanent deficit in 2016, we almost assuredly will not without a cataclysmic economic crisis.
What’s the solution? A balanced budget constitutional amendment.
History has shown Congress simply won’t act responsibly unless the voters force them to balance the budget. With great voter pressure, Congress came within 1 Senate vote of passage of the balanced budget amendment in 1996 – and the Congress passed balanced budgets each of the next four years.
When support for the balanced budget amendment waned, Congress spent like crazy.
A balanced budget amendment is the only cure to a Congress unwilling to control spending. In fact, Germany passed the BBA just last year.
That’s why we launch this week DeficitFree.com – a national push for a Balanced Budget Amendment by July 4, 2013, and a balanced Federal budget by July 4, 2016. These would be the two best birthday gifts we could give our country!
Our first and immediate goal is to bring together 5 million Balanced Budget Amendment supporters by July 4, 2010, with a minimum of 5,000 from each Congressional district. You can join the movement atwww.DeficitFree.com. This non-partisan movement is being launched by some of America’s most successful grassroots activists – not Washington DC politicians.
We need 5 million voters to work together to ensure the Balanced Budget Amendment becomes the most prominent issue in the 2010 Congressional races and in the 2012 Presidential contest.
If we don’t, it won’t be our grandkids who will suffer the economic collapse of our country and our loss of national independence.
It will be us!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
It Never Rains in Tiger Stadium
I wrote this awhile back as a mistake. We had been to Tiger Stadium for a class assignment, and afterwards were told to write about the experience. I didn’t know what I would write, so I just started putting my thoughts down on paper. After writing it, I realized that it was not what I needed, but for some reason I just couldn’t get rid of it. It has sat on my computer desk since the week of the Florida
“It Never Rains in Tiger Stadium.” I remember hearing that as a kid and not knowing what it meant. As a child you take everything as the literal truth, even when you can see that there is no roof on Tiger Stadium. Now, after almost 3 decades of screaming at the T.V., praying for a win, and yes, even getting rained on in Tiger Stadium, I know the meaning behind what those people were saying. It has nothing to do with the weather, and everything to do with our beloved Tigers. It means that no matter what, our Fightin’ Tigers will live up to their name, and we will continue to love them. Sure, we will lose, we will even have losing seasons, but we will always fight our way back to the top, and Tiger Stadium will always be there as a concrete reminder. This is the reason that other teams call it “Death Valley ,” and this is the reason that we say “It Never Rains in Tiger Stadium.”
Friday, November 20, 2009
Corruption in Baton Rouge? I Never Would Have Guessed.
Well, it looks like the political corruption in Baton Rouge is not limited to the Capitol Building. Seven people, including the mayor's sister, have been arrested on bribery charges (officially conspiracy in aid of racketeering) for taking money to fix traffic tickets and criminal matters at City Court and the 19th Judicial District Court.
The most high profile person indicted in this case is Evelyn Holden, who is the mayor's sister. Mayor Holden's only statement was asking that we keep his family in our prayers as they go through these hard times.
If sentenced, Holden and the others could receive up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Why does this not surprise me? Why is it that corruption is such a normal part of politics in this state? Its probably because we let it happen. What happens to a child when you repeatedly threaten to spank them for doing something bad but then don't follow through? They eventually learn that all you will do is complain. There will be no real punishment, so what incentive do they to stop? Politicians are the same way. Sure, a few are actually there because they want to help people and make this a better place, but the majority are doing their job because of the power that it brings. The people from this story had no real power, so they made it. They realized that they could get money and power by doing these things, and so decided to say, "Damn the consequences, the rush is too great!"
The biggest problem that I see with all of this is that in reality this is a small crime and only a minor problem for the city of Baton Rouge. If this was bigger the citizens here might do something about it, but since its not, we won't care. We will chalk it up to life in Louisiana and go about our business as if nothing happened. And that will be the biggest travesty of all.
The most high profile person indicted in this case is Evelyn Holden, who is the mayor's sister. Mayor Holden's only statement was asking that we keep his family in our prayers as they go through these hard times.
If sentenced, Holden and the others could receive up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Why does this not surprise me? Why is it that corruption is such a normal part of politics in this state? Its probably because we let it happen. What happens to a child when you repeatedly threaten to spank them for doing something bad but then don't follow through? They eventually learn that all you will do is complain. There will be no real punishment, so what incentive do they to stop? Politicians are the same way. Sure, a few are actually there because they want to help people and make this a better place, but the majority are doing their job because of the power that it brings. The people from this story had no real power, so they made it. They realized that they could get money and power by doing these things, and so decided to say, "Damn the consequences, the rush is too great!"
The biggest problem that I see with all of this is that in reality this is a small crime and only a minor problem for the city of Baton Rouge. If this was bigger the citizens here might do something about it, but since its not, we won't care. We will chalk it up to life in Louisiana and go about our business as if nothing happened. And that will be the biggest travesty of all.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
I'm a Guest Blogger on My Own Blog!
I know that this is a blog about Baton Rouge and not religion, but I figured I would share it here, anyway. Most people of BR are Christians, and to those who are not, I'm sorry, but I want to share this with everyone.
If you are interested, please check out my new blog (where this was originally posted) at: http://moderatechristianrants.blogspot.com
_________________________________________________________
I am a Christian. If you are reading this, you most likely are, as well. But, have you ever stopped to wonder WHY you are a Christian? Other than the fact that this is how you were raised? And I know, you say it's because of being able to get into Heaven, Jesus died for our sins, etc., but have you ever REALLY thought about it?
The reason that I ask is because I have. I have gone beyond the stories of the Bible and the lessons they try to teach us at church, and TRULY contemplated it. I even went so far as to question the existence of God. And you now what I came up with? A way to explain to people why you believe what you do, why you have faith in something/ someone that you can't see and that won't reveal himself.
This is the explanation that you SHOULD be giving to the people who question your faith:
There are only a few things about religion that we know for certain; that atheists, etc. will agree with us on. The relevant ones for this post are that there either is or is not a God, and that there either is or is not a Heaven. This leaves us with 4 options:
1.) We believe in God and there is a God
2.) We believe in God and there is no God
3.) We do not believe in God and there is no God
4.) We do not believe in God and there is a God
Option 1 (Believe; God) - this gets us into Heaven. This outcome is GOOD.
Option 2 (Believe; no God) - means that we do not go to Heaven, but also no Hell. So while it is not good it is not bad either, so for this argument that equals GOOD.
Option 3 (No Belief; no God) - gives the same outcome as option 2. Not good, but not bad, so technically GOOD.
Option 4 (No Belief; there is a God) - this sends you to Hell. So obviously, the outcome here is BAD.
So, what does all of this mean?
This means that by believing in God you have a 100% chance of a good outcome. (2 GOODS)
By not believing in God, you only have a 50% chance of a good outcome. (1 GOOD, 1 BAD)
I don't know about you, but to me a sure thing is a sure thing. If someone told you you had a 100% chance of meeting the person of your dreams tonight, don't you think you would go with them to the bar? If someone promised you that you had a 100% chance of winning the lottery, would you forget to buy a ticket? I sure wouldn't.
So next time that someone questions your faith, answer with this. No one that asks those types of questions wants you to preach to them, and they might actually listen to you if you answer them with reason instead of sounding like a religious extremist (that is how they view all of us, not just the true nut-cases).
Wouldn't it be nice to know that you actually got through to someone? Who knows, you might even convert a hardcore non-believer by using their own methods against them!
If you are interested, please check out my new blog (where this was originally posted) at: http://moderatechristianrants.blogspot.com
_________________________________________________________
I am a Christian. If you are reading this, you most likely are, as well. But, have you ever stopped to wonder WHY you are a Christian? Other than the fact that this is how you were raised? And I know, you say it's because of being able to get into Heaven, Jesus died for our sins, etc., but have you ever REALLY thought about it?
The reason that I ask is because I have. I have gone beyond the stories of the Bible and the lessons they try to teach us at church, and TRULY contemplated it. I even went so far as to question the existence of God. And you now what I came up with? A way to explain to people why you believe what you do, why you have faith in something/ someone that you can't see and that won't reveal himself.
This is the explanation that you SHOULD be giving to the people who question your faith:
There are only a few things about religion that we know for certain; that atheists, etc. will agree with us on. The relevant ones for this post are that there either is or is not a God, and that there either is or is not a Heaven. This leaves us with 4 options:
1.) We believe in God and there is a God
2.) We believe in God and there is no God
3.) We do not believe in God and there is no God
4.) We do not believe in God and there is a God
Option 1 (Believe; God) - this gets us into Heaven. This outcome is GOOD.
Option 2 (Believe; no God) - means that we do not go to Heaven, but also no Hell. So while it is not good it is not bad either, so for this argument that equals GOOD.
Option 3 (No Belief; no God) - gives the same outcome as option 2. Not good, but not bad, so technically GOOD.
Option 4 (No Belief; there is a God) - this sends you to Hell. So obviously, the outcome here is BAD.
So, what does all of this mean?
This means that by believing in God you have a 100% chance of a good outcome. (2 GOODS)
By not believing in God, you only have a 50% chance of a good outcome. (1 GOOD, 1 BAD)
I don't know about you, but to me a sure thing is a sure thing. If someone told you you had a 100% chance of meeting the person of your dreams tonight, don't you think you would go with them to the bar? If someone promised you that you had a 100% chance of winning the lottery, would you forget to buy a ticket? I sure wouldn't.
So next time that someone questions your faith, answer with this. No one that asks those types of questions wants you to preach to them, and they might actually listen to you if you answer them with reason instead of sounding like a religious extremist (that is how they view all of us, not just the true nut-cases).
Wouldn't it be nice to know that you actually got through to someone? Who knows, you might even convert a hardcore non-believer by using their own methods against them!
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