1. The “We Are … Penn State” cheer is a crowd favorite at Beaver Stadium. The PSU class of 2013 donated funds for the creation of a “We Are” statue, which was erected near the Stadium on June 30. I wanted to give a shout out to a former PSU football equipment manager colleague of mine in the 1980s, Dwayne Rush, who was the project manager for this effort. Great job Dwayne!
2. In the movie Bull Durham, the player to be named later played by Kevin Costner (aka Crash Davis), breaks the minor league home run record near the end of the movie. Congrats to the real life Crash Davis, aka 37 year old Mike Hessman of the AAA Toledo Mudhens, who hit his minor league record 433rd homerun last evening, breaking the record originally set in 1937. It took him 19 seasons in the minor leagues to achieve this milestone – now that’s dedication.
3. Did you ever have one of moments in life where you feel vindicated for suggestions and beliefs you championed over the several years, despite the fact that your peers and co-workers shot you down? I had one of those moments on Sunday evening. The best part of the vindication was that I was able to share it with my wife, who emphatically told me, “I believe in you.” #blessed
4. Speaking of my wife, she asked me “what is the attraction of Donald Trump and his double-digit lead in the polls?” My answer is three-fold: 1) he is viewed as a successful businessman who has the reputation of getting things done so-to-speak, which people believe is needed in government, 2) he is awaking an portion of the electorate who is angry at politicians, the political parties, and the perceived dysfunction of government and is therefore looking for anyone who can upset the apple cart and clean house and 3) he willing to take the blows from the media and the public and yet he keeps standing for what he believes
5. There has been a lot of talk and articles in the paper about the pension crisis in PA. My assessment is as follows:
6. Just an observation: why do people care about the killing of lions, giraffes and rhinos, but could care less about ridding the world of flies, ants, raccoons, rats, foxes, or alligators? It seems that people care about the murder of majestic animals and not about the ones that are ugly or a nuisance. All I want out of people is to be consistent.
7. Someone asked me recently, “Why do you want to run for public office?” Here’s my answer…In my life, I have experienced joy, heartache, made bad decisions and had some successes in my life. I fully understand that when faced with adversity, only hard work and meeting those adversities head on makes you stronger in the end. I understand that simple solutions to even difficult problems work. Name calling doesn’t work. Looking your adversaries in the eye with a calm demeanor works. Not running away from poor decisions you made makes you understand what not to do the next time. Knowing when to apologize for actions tears down boundaries. Tearing down others doesn’t work. Complaining doesn’t work. Solving one issue at a time keeps people focused. I will bring an old-school mentality to the public sector. Most importantly, I would be this kind of leader and you have my word on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZARAldXlSyA . I want to run (and win) because I believe I can help. And when I have completed my job to my satisfaction, I will get out.
8. “Whatever we accomplish belongs to our entire group, a tribute to our combined effort.” – Walter Elias Disney
9. Only LIGHT conquers darkness. If you really want to “change the world”, start by having a personal relationship with God. If you don’t believe that there is a God, I will not try and change your views. But, I will ask you to look at all of the good things that people of God have done to help this world.
10. To my fellow Christians start living this: “…first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:5 NIV). Stop trying to change others. Start by changing yourself. Let God take care of the rest.
2. In the movie Bull Durham, the player to be named later played by Kevin Costner (aka Crash Davis), breaks the minor league home run record near the end of the movie. Congrats to the real life Crash Davis, aka 37 year old Mike Hessman of the AAA Toledo Mudhens, who hit his minor league record 433rd homerun last evening, breaking the record originally set in 1937. It took him 19 seasons in the minor leagues to achieve this milestone – now that’s dedication.
3. Did you ever have one of moments in life where you feel vindicated for suggestions and beliefs you championed over the several years, despite the fact that your peers and co-workers shot you down? I had one of those moments on Sunday evening. The best part of the vindication was that I was able to share it with my wife, who emphatically told me, “I believe in you.” #blessed
4. Speaking of my wife, she asked me “what is the attraction of Donald Trump and his double-digit lead in the polls?” My answer is three-fold: 1) he is viewed as a successful businessman who has the reputation of getting things done so-to-speak, which people believe is needed in government, 2) he is awaking an portion of the electorate who is angry at politicians, the political parties, and the perceived dysfunction of government and is therefore looking for anyone who can upset the apple cart and clean house and 3) he willing to take the blows from the media and the public and yet he keeps standing for what he believes
5. There has been a lot of talk and articles in the paper about the pension crisis in PA. My assessment is as follows:
- Both parties are to blame for the $50 billion unfunded liability
- For over a decade, the leadership in Harrisburg stopped contributing to the pension funds (public and teachers) to keep taxes low, although the employees continued to make their contributions
- Several members of the leadership detail in Harrisburg, who contributed heavily to this mess in the early 2000s, remain in power – as Einstein said, “problems cannot be solved by those who created them.”
- The only ways to pay this liability are to either raise taxes (property, sales, etc.) or cut funds from other departments and use those funds to replenish the pension fund and don’t raise taxes.
6. Just an observation: why do people care about the killing of lions, giraffes and rhinos, but could care less about ridding the world of flies, ants, raccoons, rats, foxes, or alligators? It seems that people care about the murder of majestic animals and not about the ones that are ugly or a nuisance. All I want out of people is to be consistent.
7. Someone asked me recently, “Why do you want to run for public office?” Here’s my answer…In my life, I have experienced joy, heartache, made bad decisions and had some successes in my life. I fully understand that when faced with adversity, only hard work and meeting those adversities head on makes you stronger in the end. I understand that simple solutions to even difficult problems work. Name calling doesn’t work. Looking your adversaries in the eye with a calm demeanor works. Not running away from poor decisions you made makes you understand what not to do the next time. Knowing when to apologize for actions tears down boundaries. Tearing down others doesn’t work. Complaining doesn’t work. Solving one issue at a time keeps people focused. I will bring an old-school mentality to the public sector. Most importantly, I would be this kind of leader and you have my word on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZARAldXlSyA . I want to run (and win) because I believe I can help. And when I have completed my job to my satisfaction, I will get out.
8. “Whatever we accomplish belongs to our entire group, a tribute to our combined effort.” – Walter Elias Disney
9. Only LIGHT conquers darkness. If you really want to “change the world”, start by having a personal relationship with God. If you don’t believe that there is a God, I will not try and change your views. But, I will ask you to look at all of the good things that people of God have done to help this world.
10. To my fellow Christians start living this: “…first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:5 NIV). Stop trying to change others. Start by changing yourself. Let God take care of the rest.
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