The Practical Choice For US Presidency 2012

My name is Ryan Rosenbaum and I am the leader of the Practical Party. This is the party that listens to all sides and all ideas and makes a judgment based on facts, logic and the betterment of all people. In my own little world, I feel like my vote carries more weight because it is made with an informed and measured decision. My vote is very transparent and it sees through red tape and blue tape. I truly chose my leaders based not on who I simply agree with, but I chose my leaders based on a potpourri of reading, listening, seeing all sides and all point of views. 

Since the year 1996, the first year I could vote, I have not missed a single Presidential Debate (Republican or Democrat).I have even attended a few. I take my right to vote very seriously and I even attend debates for state and county races. As a proud citizen, I have voted in every election (Primary and General since 1996).I want to make this very clear that sometimes my vote goes to Republicans, sometimes it goes to Democrats and sometimes it goes to 3rd party candidates. One thing is for sure, my votes always go somewhere.

There are hundreds of people running for US President in 2012. Only 4 will be on enough ballots to qualify for at least 270 electoral votes (Obama, Romney, Stein and Johnson) and of those candidates, there are are only 2 with a realistic chance of winning the presidency (Obama or Romney). In 2008, I not only voted for Barrack Obama but I supported him very early in the campaign. I actually supported him when there were still 7 democrats still in the running. I even gave money to his campaign. I saw the direction of the country at the time and he made the most practical sense to me. This year I come into the election with a more vigilant eye and open mind.

The interesting thing about Obama is that he has accomplished around 85% of the things that he campaigned on. He is the 1st sitting president to champion a nationwide health coverage program, he ended a decade +  war in Iraq, He overturned "Don't Ask Don't Tell." He called the shot to terminate Bin Laden, he helped establish consumer protection on credit cards, he enforced equal pay for equal women. I would even concede that he implemented some controls to put a stop gap on the recession. The only thing Obama has failed do do is reinvigorate the economy. Personally, as an educated man who found myself out of work for 9 months during the Obama tenure, I have a huge problem with that. As a man who can't sell or refinance my home because no one wants to buy in this economy, I have a big problem with that too. Obama can split heirs and say the job market has gone up the last 30 months. But numbers don't lie and our unemployment today is the same as it was the day Obama took office. Do I let this inefficiency slide because of his incredibly effective style in implementing some very practical policies in his social agenda?

As for Romney, he is the perennial presidential candidate.On one hand, I strongly feel we need a business-minded leader to take reign of our economic policies. As many commentators have pointed out, his company Bain Capital, cost many people their jobs. But If it were all bad news, no one would have hired them, so my skepticism of his business practices is tempered because I believe he created more jobs then he destroyed. I have read the damming cover story in "Rolling Stone" about his bad leverage buyouts and I would even concede that Matt Tiabi is a great advocate of practical politics. I just have a hard time believing this criticism of Romney. I also believe Romany was a vital ingredient in managing the successful Winter Olympics in Utah. By all accounts, he was also a very competent governor in Massachusetts. Of course he governed as a moderate. Like Obama, I believe he is decent man with strong family values and I even admire his work with the Mormon community. He was certainly the most practical choice in a poll of conservative clowns in the 2012 primary. My knocks on Romney are the following...

1. Unlike the president, Romney is a super rich. I mean he is off the charts rich. His net value is $275 million dollars. That makes him one of the 5,000 richest people in America ad that makes him richer than 99.999% of all Americans. Don't get me wrong, Obama is rich too. His estimate wealth is at $2 million dollars (per capital the least wealthiest president ever). But the bigger difference is Obama wasn't always rich. You may say, whats wealth have to do with presidential politics? 

It's simple. Romney, through no fault of his home, can not understand, comprehend, envision a life of limited means. He can't understand what a struggle it is to save and provide for a family. He doesn't understand what its like to go paycheck to paycheck. The man has been running for president for 6 years without a paying job and it doesn't effect him one bit financially. If I go 6 days without a paycheck, I am in deep financial troubles and I consider myself to be middle-class. So it should be noted that apples-to apples, our president should reflect someone who has the experience of living a financially moderate life. Is that fair? Maybe not but in my practical world it should be counted in your calculated decision for this office. I would also say that my household income is around 275 million less then his but we are in the 25% tax bracket. He somehow has only pays 14%. How is is that justified?

2. The perception is that Mitt Romney will say anything to get elected. I believe that the reason why people feel this way about him is because... its true. I can honestly say that I have no idea where he stands on many hot button issues. This includes on health reform, women's health and our strategy in getting out of Afghanistan. The reason why I have no clue on his position has nothing to do with me paying attention. As I prefaced earlier, I have actually paid too much attention to these elections. It has everything to do with Mitt Romney being on both sides of nearly every issue. I understand why. First he needed to appease conservatives to win the parties nomination. Then he needed to switch gears to appease Independents in the general election. Its a sleazy approach but he knows exactly what he is doing and many Americans are eating bird seeds right out his hand. I have big issue with this strategy. Its deceitful and dishonest.

3. The third issue with Mitt Romney is that he represents the Republican Party and although, he is historically a pretty moderate Republican, he still embodies the support and confidence of people like Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Donald Trump, Glenn Beck and Grover Norquist...and the members of The Practical Party agree that these people represent whats truly bad in America. We don't dislike them because we share a different view on fundamental policies. We dislike them because we believe their rhetoric is hateful, racist, bigoted and detrimental to the governance of our nation. 

Case and point, On Obama's first day as president in January, 2009 (or as Romney likes to proclaim, campaign kickoff day), Rush Limbaugh stated how Republicans number one goal was to make sure Obama was a one term president. It sounded like a crazy sentiment but the congress bowed to that idea and began obstructing every piece of legislation that Obama wanted to pass, including many bills that were fundamentally swayed to a conservative audience but looked bad because were directed by a Democratic president. This exact practice cost our country a credit rating decrease and stunted some of our economic growth. Let us also not forget their race baiting campaign in obtaining the presidents birth documents or invoking his middle name into speeches to lead their audiences in believing our president was a Muslim. But even if he was a Muslim does that mean he is a terrorist...most Muslims are not.

So with all this being said, I was was still undecided as a voter going into the 2nd week of October this year. My feeling was that this race is for Obama's to lose. He obviously would not win by as much as he did in 2008 but a small victory will send the signal of "You are better than Romney but you still are not as good as you can be." My vote up until mid-October was going for Green Party Candidate, Jill Stein. Not because I thought she would win but because I needed to send a message to both candidates that they needed to work harder to earn our trust.

But lately I have had a change of heart. We can talk policies till we are blue in the face but for me the election comes down to three simple questions.

A. Are we better today then we were 4 years ago? The answer is a resounding "No." Some people are back to work but many more are not. People are suffering financially.

B. Will we be better 4 years from now with a different candidate? The answer to that question is also a resounding "NO."

So it comes down to my 3rd question...

C. Which candidate can I see working his hardest for the betterment of me and my family. The people of the Practical Party believe that the answer to that question is Barack Obama.

Although I am not completely satisfied with the first four years, I can at least acknowledge that he is working hard under very difficult circumstances. I truly believe he has my best intentions in mind. I also believe that he has tried to work hard with both political parties and one side has completely shut him out and that turned me off big time. But the straw that brokes the camels back is that our country had its best years when Clinton, a fellow Democrat was President. Our worst years were when Bush 1 and Bush 2 were presidents. It is not an accident that Clinton has been out on the trails and that the Republicans are doing their best to swim away from the Bushes. As a matter of fact, Republicans always reference Ronald Regan as the crown jewel of The Republican presidency. The irony is that Regan was more centrist then Mitt Romney ever was or will ever be. Regan would have been labeled a Socialist Facist in a 2012 Republican Primary.

I don't want you to vote for Obama simply because he is the choice of the Practical Party. My decision is very calculated on what I see for my family and our countries future. If you believe in Romney then by all means, vote for him. Its your vote and your right. No one should take that away. If Romney were to be our president, I would respect that decision and follow his leadership. I would not be bitter nor should anyone else. 

Let us all come together as all practical Americans and get behind whoever wins this election. The times of bitterness, divide and political scorekeeping is hurting our progress. Lets respect the will of the voters and not make this a bitter election.

2012 Graduation Speech...."Life is Hard"

Dear Class of 2012. Congratulations on this momentous occasion. For many of you this day has been about achievement, dedication, discipline and diligence, for others it’s about luck, manipulation and the grace of god. Despite these two paths, all graduates have reached the same destination, the privilege of wearing really heavy robes in 90 degree weather, while some stuffy academic hands you a document that certifies your graduation. A document that only cost you and your family about $100,000 to buy. But don’t be bitter, when you get your first job three years from now, the deferments on those school loans will only set your grandchildren back 20 years or so.

The theme of today’s motivating theme is “life is hard.” No, it really is hard. It sounds cliché but as you will soon realize that the tide of your life will turn from party-going college student, to bill-paying adult. For most of you, the realities of the real world will be a monumental adjustment. Some of you will continue your streak of luck and land jobs that you are clearly not qualified to lead. You will get this position because the company either owes your father a few favors or you have a relative running the company or you are a woman with really nice legs. Honestly these are the only ways a college graduate gets a good job right out of college.

For others, you will be grossly disappointed. You will end up sending out thousands of resumes and get little to no response. For the few responses you do get, there will be in the form of rejection, citing a lack of job experience, which is a vicious Catch 22 considering you just graduated college and your only experience are internships and summer camp jobs. After six months of cursing your diploma, the school loans will begin to come in the mail. Trust me it won’t be hard for them to find you. They just assume you are living in your parent’s basement. If you are lucky, your parents will give you cable television and 3 square meals a day. You will wake up each day and begin to wonder if you’ll ever work. At first you’ll find solace in watching Kelly Ripa and Days of Our Lives but eventually these shows become synonymous with “What the hell is happening to my life, I want to be back in school.”

With time, this phase will eventually pass and you will finally be offered a low paying job in an unlikely place. A place so far-fetched from your major that you wonder why the hell they make you pick a major. For some, it may be a substitute teacher or a Manager at WAWA or playing a mascot at local theme park or maybe a secretary for some uneducated CEO who plays golf 4 times a week. Regardless, this job may give you the hopes that you can one day move out of your parent’s basement. Get use to this because life is hard.

Then when you least expect it, your love will come along. Perhaps you meet them at a bar, online or are setup by your local matchmaker. This person will make your heart got pitter-patter and will make you think differently about the world. You will begin to think that the lack of career progression is second-rate compared to deep love you have for your new partner. You begin to wonder about your future and if the low wage jobs will cut it for you. You then take a leap of faith and move ahead is to further educate yourself. You then enroll in a local college to earn a graduate degree in science, business, math or the arts. Your logical thinking is that an additional $40,000 in school loans will be equal to another $1,000,000 of money earned in your life, so it’s worth the risk. Only to find out that everyone has the same idea thus saturating the market of job seekers with advanced degrees. It’s just hard.

Eventually you’ll scrape to together a few bucks and get a nice place for you and your significant other to live. Only to find out that three years down the road when you begin a family and want a bigger home your investment turns to shit because of a poor economy. But that’s ok because life is hard.

What I’m saying kids is that you are not that special. No really, you are not. Many people will tease you and say that if you dream big and work hard, you can have anything you want. It’s not true. Only a few selective people live the perfect dream.

I don’t want you to think that life is filled with disappointment. No, there will be moments of excitement and progress. There is no doubt that life will throw you a few bones to slowly gnaw on but generally you must also navigate your way past a junkyard full of pit bulls without being bit too hard. Remember, no one recalls when they graduated and no one cares how they did in College Algebra. You must make the best of these moments and always remember, life is hard.

My Philadelphia Sports Thesis

I like to consider myself to be practical, diplomatic and fair. I have an ability to clear my mind and make an opinion based on what I believe to be righteous and most importantly, realistic. Some accuse me as being skeptical and others say overly optimistic. When it comes to Philadelphia sports teams, I use reasoning, deduction, facts and fandom in my analysis of the standing with the city and the fan-base.

With that being said, I believe our Philadelphia sports teams have grossly underachieved in the last two   years. But even more disturbing is our blurred realities of management and fans u feathered support of perennial mediocrity.  In what I will call, The Philadelphia Fan Thesis,” I will dissect the fallacies and realities of each teams relationship with fans. I will do my best to not feed individual stats, rather just relay the details as they support my points.

The first things we need to come together on is what teams should be relevant to this study. My measurement is sheepish, silly but in the scheme of things very truthful. You need to ask one fundamental question.  If the team wins a championship, will this constitute a parade down Broad Street. It’s honestly the only thing that matters. This exact premise will eliminate all individual champions. Thus, we salute the excellence of our local golfers, swimmers and colts (RIP Smarty Jones) but none will ever invoke a city-wide parade. Although we love our college teams too, they will not have parades either.  In basketball, a parade would be on campus and likely mocked by rival local schools. No one from St. Joes would applaud a Villanova championship and likewise. In football, the answer is simple, NCAA doesn’t have a playoff thus has no real champion we can celebrate   in any city.

Secondly, people brag about being 4 for 4 fans (Flyers, Sixers, Phillies and Eagles). This is a mark of a true Philadelphian but in reality, it’s a rarity to be part a 4 for 4 fan without having a partiality to one specific sport. Ask any parent who their favorite child is, they will say “I love all my children” but no one ever really buys that. We all have favorites…except for me because I’m a true 4 for 4 guy because I see the potential and flaws of all the teams. By the way, I love all my children but that’s only because I have only one.

With that being said, let’s begin the analyzing.

PHILLIES

It is my opinion that the Phillies have the most intelligent fans. By intelligence, I am speaking in terms of game knowledge and not life knowledge.  Just because you know a lot about baseball doesn’t mean you can ace the SAT’s. Sure we occasionally got a non-intelligent knucklehead streaking on the field or starting a fistfight with a helpless Pirates fan but baseball is a thinking man’s sport and any true Phillies fan are five steps ahead of most rival fans on what reliever will be coming in for a better matchup or who will be pitch-running for Thome or what batter maybe laying down the bunt.

Furthermore, they are always aware of streaks, milestones and remarkable achievements. If an opposing player were to hit his 700^th homer in Philly, The fans would first boo the fact that they gave up a homerun and as the rounds 3^rd base, the fans would stand and applaud his milestone. Much like the Flyers, fans are very much disillusioned and brainwashed by management. Many would believe that our GM is the best thing since sliced bread. How can you say bad words about a guy who got 4 pitching aces in 2011? I’ll tell you who. One who could see that same GM got no hitting aces to get us over the years of regressing. Everyone knows that pitching wins in the playoffs but when you are eliminated in a game in which you scored zero runs, it makes you think how irrelevant 4 pitching aces can be. At this writing, the team has an ace with an ERA under 2.00 and zero wins to his name. Let us not forget that the Phillies have regressed each year since this GM took over. In 2009, they lost in the World Series, 2010, they lost in NLCS, and in 2011 they lost in the NLDS. Where is the progress? Lastly, how hard can it be to put a team together when you have the 2^nd highest payroll in baseball and the 9^th highest sports team payroll in the world? The Phillies have talent because money talks but they have the wrong talent. This is a true blind spot of Phillies fans who would swear by the Ivy League GM.

I would also say that Phillies fans are the most fickle and less loyal. The opposing voice would say that the Phillies have sold out of every game since 2009. I would counter that by saying that selling seats is not a function of loyalty but rather a symptom of winning. Where was the fan base in 1994-2007 when a well-attended night would mean the stadium was half full? In full disclosure, I have a season plan for the Phillies. My plan did NOT begin in 2009, the year after they won the World Series. Rather my plan began in 2003. Proudly I attended games when the team floundered into the mid-summer grind and when the “E-A-G-L-E” chants would frequently arise.

The Phillies are generally a fan-friendly organization. Over the last few years, they have gathered players with good attitudes, fun personalities and commitments to community organizations. A night at the ballpark is relatively inexpensive (compared to other clubs) and the Phillie Phantatic is still the best mascot in all of sports. Obviously it doesn’t always enhance the team’s performance but still makes a fun sports atmosphere for the family.

EAGLES

Without a shadow of a doubt, these fans are the most passionate. It’s a very blue collar crowd. In other words, there are not a lot of people going to games wearing suit and ties (unless of course you are in the owner’s box). These fans are also the most vengeful group. If you got a big interception against the Eagles in a key playoff game, such as Ronde Barber, you can not only expect to be booed forever and subsequently banned from all Philadelphia area restaurants. The fans also welcome back players with open arms. The one caveat is that you have to be a player that legitimately wanted to stay an Eagle but left town because ownership saw things differently. These players include, Brian Dawkins, Reggie White and Randall Cunningham.

Eagle fans unfortunately are also short-sighted. They often forget the achievements of dearly departed players. Terrell Owens was booed mercifully when he returned. Mostly because he joined the Cowboys, mainly because he was a cancer in the locker-room but generally everyone forgets his career game in the Super Bowl (playing with one bad knee none the less). The Eagles lost the game by three points and had they won, he’d be the most revered Philadelphia sports figure…ever.

Then of course there is McNabb. A man who is unquestionably the greatest quarterback in our teams history but because he didn’t win the “Big One,” by the way there are only 33 people in the world that can claim to be the starting QB of a Super Bowl winning team, he will never be revered in Philly. My point is that Eagle fans are ungrateful and have short memories. This is a characteristic that can also be identified in Sixer fans.

Lastly, Eagle fans are pretty realistic. They know when the team is bad and are often ahead of management in terms of team needs. They knew 3 years before the Eagles management that the team needed a legitimate WR. Eventually the team signed T.O. The fans also knew years ago that the team had little presence in the Middle Linebacker spot.

As far as management is concerned, there is a perception that the team is “The Gold Standard” in football. It’s almost an array of arrogance. No one around the league buys that mentality and quite frankly, neither does the fans. There is one thing that both Eagle fans can agree is that there is never a feeling of management “tanking it.” Because of this shared value and fans, there will likely not be an empty seat for years to come.

Let’s also recognize that football is a regional event. The schedule is smaller and the impact of each game is magnified and of course analyzed by both young and old. Add to the mixture that games generally occur on the same times each week; it makes it easier to follow for everyone. No sport in our city galvanizes and invokes discussions like football. Because of these factors, The Eagles will always rule the roost. It was said that in 2008, the Phillies trumped the Eagles in fan favorability and to me it was a very temperamental movement of the arrow based on the significance of the world championship.

Once again, I use a Broad Street parade as a barometer of passion and favorability. Barrack Obama’s inauguration bought 1 million people into the US capitol, a Phillies parade bought 2 million fans onto Broad Street. Add those two numbers together and you may get 75% of what the population of an Eagles parade would be. In the next few years, the Phillies can get old and start losing, fans would then stop coming to games. In that same time, The Eagles can go 6-10, sign Andy Reid to an extension and still sell out every game.  

SIXERS

This team is probably the hardest to analyze. The best way to measure any team is to compare their best seasons versus their worst seasons. Unfortunately their best season was over a decade ago. This much I do know. Philadelphia Sixer fans are very reactive. More so then any other sport. They talk about how this team has no defense. Yet they want to trade their best defensive player away because he isn’t a superstar. The majority of the city complains that the NBA is not fun because it is a super star driven league. Yet, in 2001, when Iverson took us on his shoulders and carried the team to to the finals, the NBA was just fine and dandy.

***As an aside, all Philadelphians lament about how bad leagues are when their favorable team are not dominant. For example the state of Major League Baseball was awful in from 1994-2007. Then miraculously, the Phillies made the postseason and Major League Baseball is once again a great product. Ask any Philadelphian when the glory days of basket were. They would say the 1980’s. That’s when we saw the likes of Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Dr. J. Why else was that era good? Because the Sixers were winning.

There is no team in our city that elicits more bandwagoners then the Sixers. It is shameful. People only care when they are winning. This is very similar to the Phillies. Only the Eagles and Flyers get fan support throughout good times and bad.

There is also a perception in the NBA that dominos to lack of support for the Sixers. The perception is that NBA players are hoodlums and overpaid brats. This perception never made any sense to me because it implies that the other sports don’t have overpaid players or hoodlums. Andre Igoudala is a poster boy for the “overpaid” argument. In 2008, Andre Igoudala was paid 80 million for six years. No doubt, it was and still is a big commitment to a guy not known as a superstar. With that being said, he would have got the same contract (or even more) elsewhere. His talent in the league is more recognized and appreciated. This year, he will be one of only 15 players to represent the US in the Olympics. This puts him in the same breath as Kevin Durrant, Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Blake Griffith, etc. This under-appreciation is a trend in Sixers history. They couldn’t wait to trade Allen Iverson, Charles Barkley and Moses Malone. These are arguable 3 of the top 5 Sixers ever…all run out of town.

Overall, I would classify the fans as guarded. They watch from afar but are always waiting for the shoe to drop. They are anticipating failure and they only watch when the team is playing great. There is not enough of a compelling argument to draw them in. There is no new stadium or the anticipation of a superstar and the feeling is that although the team is improving, they can’t compete with a team with a superstar.

FLYERS

Flyer fans hold two very distinctive characteristics. They are unquestionably the most loyal and least intelligent fans in town. I don’t mean either to be negative, just both a factual. For example, lower level tickets are one of the highest tickets in the league. Yet, fans, whom are stereotypically blue collar and not wealthy, still gladly shell out the money. They love hockey and they love the Flyers. It is nationally recognized as a hockey town and the character of the team is generally locked in stride with the character of the city.

The team also has one of the best owners in the NHL and really the best owner in the city. He is not bashful and lets everyone feel that his wealth is far less a concern then the Flyers raising a Stanley Cup. You can see it in his face and feel it in everything he says. Unlike many of the athletes, he can feel the pain of a loss as deeply as the fans.

As for the intelligence part. I once again use the term sports intelligence as opposed to general everyday intellect. The Flyers have a very specific trend these past few years. Build the team with balance scoring (They always seem to lead the league in individual players with at least 20 goals a season). This offensive production often overshadows management’s inability to pick the right goalie. This ultimately leads to a quick demise in the playoffs. The team then makes a few adjustments, the team raises ticket prices and the process is again repeated. The people still show up to games and they shoot down anyone who criticizes their team.

I grew up a Hockey-Head. In our house, it was the preferred and most loved sport. Obviously I still love it today because I’m a true 4 for 4 guy but it’s like a bad romantic film, the ending is always predictable. With the other teams, I don’t feel that way. You always get surprised by the better or the worse with the other teams but with the Flyers you kind of know that they will dominate in the regular season and then ball up in the fetal possession come post-season. It’s the living legacy of the franchise, get goalies that are past their prime or sign goalies with a high pedigree to obnoxiously long contracts.  In the end its ok because the loyal fan-base will continue to shell out money and worship management.

Here’s the difference. If an Eagles fan was upset with the team or management, they would (and have) shown up at a practice with signs voicing their displeasure. They Flyers fans would never question management. It’s not in their blood. They are foot soldiers that hear no evil, smell no evil or taste no evil.

THE BIG FINISH

My life has crossed 1/3 of a century and I am pretty certain that some certain things will never change. Some things are cut and dry choices in life, such as work, school, love and restaurant preferences. Other things are birthed to you. Such as religion, family and being a trained Philadelphia sports fan. Like religion and family, each has its features and its flaws. Like my Uncle Franks hairy mole, there are diversions and distractions. For the Flyers it’s their inability to land the right goalie, for the Eagles it’s their inability to win under Andy Reid, for the Phillies it’s an inability to overspend / underperform, for the Sixer’s it’s about relevancy. Obviously for Uncle Franks it’s about laser surgery.

But for all their faults individually, it is the best sports town in America collectively. People invest more emotionally and financially then most American cities. More people in this region watch more games than most sports town. Most Philadelphia fans peruse the dozens of blogs and even care enough to know more than they should about the regional reporters who cover the teams (Google Bill Conlin and boy molesting).

In a town saturated with restaurants, theaters and historical presence, it is nice to know that we all still stand in general solidarity of our teams. We embrace, we hope and we can’t wait to ship out the next best talent to emerge. Then we actively ask for that talent to be traded.

My Insight on Serious and Not So Serious Issues

THE NOT SO GREAT GM

The Phillies record so far this season is 0-0 and I am playing the role of typical Philadelphian by stating that we need to fire Ruben Amaro. I will say that I am not usually fan of the “Fire___” movements. Trust me there is nothing I’d rather do then eat crow but Ruben Amaro has flown under everyone’s radar for far too long.

Amaro is clearly a an affable Ivy league graduate with the ability to crunch numbers and come across as the smart guy in the room. I applaud him for that but it’s easier to catch fish with a pole then it is with your hands. By that I mean Pat Gillick took a team with a 14 year streak of missing the playoffs to winning suddenly winning a division during his first year as The Phillies GM. He followed that successful season by leading the Phillies to their First World Series in 28 years.

Since then the team has regressed under Amaros leadership. Let’s review that regression.

2009 – Lost in the World Series

2010 – Lost in the NL Championship

2011 – Lost in the NL Wild Card

See a trend? The contrarian can say that Gillick had more to work with in terms of players and payroll. Phillies payroll under Gillick was roughly 110 million in each of his two years as GM. Their payroll was ranked 10^th in baseball. Under Amaro, the payroll has escalated to the 172 million range (second in the league). What do we have to show for it? Regression.

Gillick did two things really well that hasn’t translated to Ruben Amaro JR’s repitaore.

A. Gillick didn’t put all his eggs in one basket. Instead of relying on four aces, Gillick diversified his team. He added affordable position players like Greg Dobbs, Geoff Jenkins and Jayson Werth. Gillick had a reliable lefty out of the pen in Scotty Eyre and took a chance on rebuilding the career of Brad Lidge. Adding up all those salaries may not even equal what Halladay makes in a year. That’s not to say Halladay isn’t a fantastic player (Hard to argue with two no-hitters and a Cy Young) but what good is it when your start pitcher gives up 1 run and loses a playoff game because your offense couldn’t score a single run?

B. Gillick never gave out contracts that were more than 3 years in duration. That ended with Halladay in 2010 (100 million contract over six years). Then getting Lee back in 2011 for 6 years - $125 million. That’s not to mention the 30 million dollars owed to Chase Utley on a 7 year deal that will not be realized because injuries will prevent him from playing regularl. Sure, there was no way Amaro would know Utley would be getting hurt after his 5^th year but a more sensible contract term would have put the writing on the wall. Did I also mention the 125 million- 7 year contract that Amaro set up for Ryan Howard. A man who is only two years into his contract. What will a $25 million yearly contract for Howard look like in 2014-2015?

Of course the Amaro supporters will say, Ryan why do you care it’s not your money? True as that may be, the Phillies do have a budget and now they have limitations due to ill-advised long-term contracts. We haven’t even touched on the Papelbon deal. He is here for 6+ years. If these were all guys in the early 20’s and on the verge of multiple titles it may be enough for fans to swallow but this is a team of a lot of aging 30-somethings.

Now what about trades?

Sure Ruben has pulled off a few good ones. Landing Hunter Pence for a bag of baseballs was pretty remarkable. I even loved it when he got Roy Oswalt in mid-season 2010…not only did he hardly give anything up but he managed to get Houstons GM, Ed Wade to pay for Oswalt’s salary that season. I also find it to be interesting that once Ed Wade destroyed the Astros with these boneheaded trades to the Phillies, he found himself out of a job. But not for long as Ruben Amaro hired Ed Wade, who also happens to be the Godfather of one of Amaros daughters, as a Special Consultant to the Phillies. The good news is that Amaro didn’t lock Ed Wade up for 7 years $125 million. Maybe this is finally a good move for the man they call RAJ.

THE PRICE OF BULLYING

On a more serious topic, a man is going to jail for ten years. His crime was bullying. I agree that this is a major issue in today’s society, particularly with the gay teens. However, I can’t help but to think how different the verdict would have been if his victim had not jumped to his death 18-months ago.

We are familiar with the sad tale of Tyler Clementi. He was a promising young student at Rutgers University. He also happened to be gay teen, who was and bullied and shamed by his roommate, Dharun Ravi. Ravi, who may or may not have been anti-gay, secretly taped Cleminti intimately kissing another man. This act was so devasting to Clementi that he committed suicide.

There is no other way to put this other then it’s simply a horrible story all the way around. Ravi has been villianized by the Rutgers community and by the national media. Let’s call a spade a spade. What Ravi did was reprehensible, douche-baggish and even unlawful but lost in the mix was that he didn’t physically call Clementi.

I can’t help to think about what the penalty may have been if Cleminti were still alive. My guess is Ravi would have been kicked out of school for a childish prank and hit with an invasion of privacy charge. The punishment probably would have been community service and probation. It would have been a harsh lesson that would have been justified for a foolish college-aged act. But Clementi did committ suicide and society needed to make an example of Ravi.

The other point of view would say that Ravi would have had a lighter sentence had he pleaded guilty to the original charges. So, he got bad advice from his lawyer. It still doesn’t equal ten years in jail. People may also remind me that the jury was not allowed to consider Clementi’s death as part of their verdict.

I don’t think there is a jury in America that didn’t know who Tyler Clementi was and certainly everyone in the state of New Jersey knew the case pretty well. To think that his death was not considered in this verdict would be foolish.

I share in everyone’s thoughts when I say that I wish Tyler Clementi were still alive. I also share in everyone’s thought when I say bullying is a very real problem in America. The truth is that bullies around America may see the results of this case and realize the penalty for their actions can be pretty stiff but in the end, I think about how Ravi is serving time simply because he was a jerk who spied on his gay roommate. Ravi deserves to be punished but ten years is not the right call.

Actually, my penalty would be to enforce Ravi to go around the country and speak to young adults about tolerance and bully prevention.

GUNS, GUNS, GUNS

My feelings are much different in the case of George Zimmerman. Of course I don’t know all the details of this story because I obviously wasn’t there. But I know enough to state that the following things are a very dangerous recipe…

1. Neighborhood Watch Groups

2. Racists

3. Right for ordinary citizens to carry open firearms

4. Relaxed self defense rules

Instead of analyzing down the blatant miscarrying of justice going on in Sanford Florida, allow me to pontificate on the bigger issue in my opinion…Gun Laws.

Almost every day there are lunatics bringing guns to schools and public gatherings (See Gabbie Giffords January, 2011). In addition, there are sane people who accidentally leave guns laying around, where their children mishandle them and shoot people. Finally there are convicted felons who are getting their hands on guns via straw purchases.

Let me first state that I believe in the NRA and I am not in favor of revoking peoples 2^nd amendment rights. Although one can interpret that amendment and see that after the words “right to carry arms” is followed by a notion it should be for “militia” purposes. But that’s neither here or there.

In my perfect world, gun ownership should always be preceded by the word “responsible.” To me this means several things.

A. If you are a convicted of a crime, you by virtue are irresponsible and unable to ever own a firearm for any purpose whatsover.

B. If you are a hunter then you do not have a need for a semi-automatic. Thus this type of gun shall never be used by anyone other then law enforcement.

C. If you are a parent that leaves loaded guns lying by your bedside (in case the boogeyman comes to attack you in your home). Then precautions must be made to ensure your gun does not end up in your child’s hands. The answer to me is very simple…fingerprint technology.

Handguns should be made with an innovative technology that will only allow the trigger to be pulled if the fingerprints match the owners. Unless you cut off your finger and give it to a friend then we will not have to worry about straw purchases anymore.

In the case of George Zimmerman, you have a man who was twice convicted of criminal misconduct. By my rules, this would have disqualified him from carrying a gun but then again with renegade laws in Florida, he still may have been given the benefit of a doubt by an even shadier police department

Bottom-line, guns are ok if used and treated by responsible owners not by overzealous night watchmen looking to react to a defenseless and unarmed teen.

720 Hours

I have a love for numbers, which is ironic since I did so poorly in math in high school. But that was Algebra and Geometry, which is really more like shapes and letters and not numbers at all but I digress. Numbers are important to me. As a child my favorite number was 22 because that’s was the number Rick Tocchet wore until he went to the Penguins and began wearing 92, which screwed up my love for the number 22. Then there is the number 2008, which is the year that I hit the 11,000 day mark of my life, which was bookended by the number 10, which was the amount days it took to achieve my three most memorable moments in life, Phillies winning the World Series, America voting for our first non-white male president and then there was that whole wedding thing with my wife. Finally there is 1-19-12, which is not really a number but more a date, which was the moment our daughter, Rylee Hope Rosenbaum took her first breath of life, which brings us to 30 days after that milestone, which equals 720 hours…That brings us to today.

This blog entry is not my need to brag or pontificate upon the joys and rigors of parenthood. I think most people understand the magnitude of love and responsibility that goes along with it. We all try to prepare as best as we can but do any of us really fully comprehend this new societal role until that moment we are handed a bag of diapers and a bucket of receiving blankets? For Pamela and I the pregnancy and the birth was a very deep and intimate experience, one of which I will share with my readership because I think some people will measure it with their personal experiences and or help them grasp the gravity of parenthood.

In May, 2011 we made it official to friends and family that we were having a baby. It was completely planned but in truth it was a calculated gamble in life. We live in a very small 2-bedroom condo, which at the time was on the market for nearly a year, we also had career issue as I was working for a company where I felt extremely unwanted and knew that I’d be changing jobs in the midst of this pregnancy.

Pamela really struggled physically in the first few months. In a way it was quite normal for a pregnancy but in our world it was very real, fresh and we were really trying to make it past every day. There was the frequent heartburn and nausea that everyone said would dissipate but it’s hard to justify the journey of birth when your wife has her head in the toilet for three months straight.

Like everything else that comes our way in life, we got through it with love and patience (and for me Rum). The second trimester approached and as every current mother and educated doctor promised, it was 3 months of painless pregnancy. Except for my wife getting ear full’s of me wallowing about my job. Our time was occupied by with filling in those missing lines. You know what lines I am talking about. It’s the same three lines that every human being must ask a woman who is showing a bump…

1. When are you due?

2. Do you know what you are having?

3. Have you picked out a name?

Pamela and I decided very early on that we would share everything. That’s just how we roll. It actually minimizes small talk with strangers. Soon as we see their lips forming to ask the three questions every stranger needs to know about another complete stranger, we fire back with “late January, girl, Rylee Hope.” It also makes it easier in planning a nursery, getting personalized items and picking out cloths. It gave me a head start on saving for a weddingJ

Then there was the last third of the pregnancy. For Pamela it was the hardest. For those that know my wife, understand that she treats her body like a temple. She is very aware of her diet; she has never done drugs and has never smoked a cigarette in her life. The last time she was a patient in a hospital was the day she was born. She is very careful in almost everything she does in life but she is specifically careful in how she takes care of her body. She put on about 50% of her normal body weight and it came to the point where she was in a considerable amount of pain in her back and feet…more then what is normally expected. Her weight gain was so worrisome that doctors felt that the baby would be too large to be delivered vaginally. They recommended we get one last ultrasound to measure the babies anticipated weight.

At 37.5 weeks we got that ultrasound and what we saw was completely unexpected. The good news was that the baby was just over 8 pounds and in most scenarios that would be acceptable for a vaginal delivery. What we didn’t expect was that the baby was breech. She was positioned with her head up. This is a recipe for a C-Section.

My wife was not pleased with this news because this is not how she envisioned this birth going. I was also a tad disappointed at first but the more we heard about stories of the C-Section, the more we liked the idea. For starters, it allowed us to essentially pick our baby’s birthday. This date allowed Pamela to work 2 more days at work and then she went on bed rest 1 week before the birth. It also meant 2 extra days in the hospital, which allowed for more time to get lactation consultation and post operative care for Pamela. Lastly it was cost-saving. Women who have C-Sections get an extra two weeks pay from their disability claims (in most jobs).

With that being said, no women likes to be cut open while they are awake to deliver a baby. I stayed very strong for my wife but for all her worrying, I couldn’t say that I wouldn’t have been just as nervous. Nowadays, C-Sections happen in over 1/3 of all pregnancies. It’s extremely safe and in most cases less painful then vaginal deliveries but it’s still a very scary thing to endure.

The details of the birth day were very clear in my mind. In one sense I was super-excited to be a father and in the other sense, I was super-nervous about my wife. I wanted everything to go perfectly. The anticipation of the moment could really be trying on the mind but I felt like I was incredibly calm for no other reason other than to transmit that calm tone to my wife, who was laid out on the OR with her hands spread out on a horizontal wooden board. In an odd sense it made me giggle because she looked like Jesus on a crucifix ready to have a baby. At around 9:12am (numbers are important), the lead nurse peaked over the curtain that separated by Jesus wife from her bloody insides and she said “Baby Time.” If I learned one thing in the birthing class it was that “Baby Time” meant “get your cameras ready to see your baby enter the world.”

The next few minutes seemed like hours. I heard some veil compliments like”She is so pretty”, “What a cute tush” and “She has a full head of hair.” At each compliment I stood to catch a some video of the birth of our child. At each point that I tried to stand, the nurse said “No, not yet…not yet” It was clear that something seemed very troubling. I now know that my daughter was out of the womb but I had not yet heard a single cry. I would later learn that she had lots of fluid in her lungs and I not being able to video the birth was a precautionary measure. It took the doctors around 60-90 seconds to clean the baby off and get her to a warmer. It was at that point that I was escorted to that warmer to see the baby for the first time.

Like the doctors, I was taken back by how much hair the baby had and how similar she looked to my wife. My exact thought going through my head was that I can’t believe my sperm and Pamela’s egg made this awesome looking child. It is one of those wonderful medical miracles that I will never appreciate enough. I had the chance to cut the umbilical cord and I videoed the weigh-in (BTW they way in grams). When they said 3600 grams I immediately thought, wow that’s a lot of weed.

The next thing I know is that I’m ushered back to my chair behind the curtain next to my Jesus wife. She looks dazed and confused and I had to assure her that the baby was both beautiful and healthy. Five minutes later they bought the baby over to us where Pamela got to her first glimpse of what was kicking around her for many months.

The hour’s that followed were slightly anti climatic, except for our families who were waiting patiently in the waiting room to meet Rylee for the first time. Pamela was taken to recovery where I sat by her side feeding her ice chips and marveling at the beauty of our baby girl. Pamela was then moved to our home for the next five days in post-partum. The next five days were a bit of a blur. There was a heavy dose of milking lessons, lots of strange hospital workers poking at my wife’s genitals, lots of family/friends visiting, there was a nice daddy rollout bed and plenty of good hospital food. It was more or less a five days of hands-on-training baby sessions. By the end, we had a good system…so we thought.

On Monday, January 23^rd, we took the baby home for the first time and this is was when I first realized that this parenthood thing was super intense. The hospital training wheels were off and it was just me, my baby and my highly hormonal wife. The first few days felt like a tornado came to town. As advertised there was minimal sleep and maximum crying. On top of all of that, I was 2 weeks into a new job (one that I love thank you very much). So it was 3-4 hours of sleep followed by 12-13 hours of learning a new job. Thank you to the good members of Bucks Mont NARI for being so understanding.

Ultimately, it’s been a whirlwind for us. Some things that I learned are that when you become a dad, your vocabulary dramatically changes. All words end with the “eee” sound…

Onsie – an outfit for newborns

Paci- a sucky tool you stick in your newborns mouth to keep them quiet

Poopy – First it looks like motor oil then it turns to mustard seeds

I learned how precious a life can be and how much a person can love another person. This little ray of sunshine has really turned my life upside down. It’s a very strange feeling being a father but one in which I’m slowly adjusting too. I also learned a lot about my wife. Seeing her carry this child for nine months made me realize that she is a very strong woman. Now that I see her interact with Rylee, I am not afraid to say that she may be one of the most incredible mothers ever. I don’t know if I would be able to fully commit to a child chomping at my mammaries every 3 hours for even a week, let alone a month…and hopefully longer.

As hours become months and months become years, I realize every moment is precious. This baby, Rylee Hope has a name with purpose. The word “Hope” is one of the best words in the English dictionary. It represents all the possibilities the world presents for her. Such as the day she begins kindergarten on approximately day 1800. Then the day she has her Bat Mitzvah, approximately day 4000, the day she drives on approximately day 5300….and of course the day she begins to date, approximately the 4^th of never.

Numbers mean something to me. It represents growth, progression and achievement. For me the most important number is one, as in one heart, one soul and one unwavering love for my wife Pamela and our beautiful baby, Rylee Hope. Happy first month Baby Rylee.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSWinPHlPZI