Chapter 52: Smoking Gun on Health Insurance

If a story from the Boston Globe is to be believed, then at least one company is on the way to destroying health insurance in America. Lawncare giant, Scott's, apparently has a policy that precludes any employee from smoking -- including off the job. Why are they acting as Big Brother? I can only surmise that they know what smoking does for the health of an employee and they don't want to pay for a smoker's health care, especially as they get older and the problems persist.

I'm not in favor of smoking, but I'm less in favor of legislating a person's private life. If the company is allowed to maintain such draconian policies, the measures will be replicated elsewhere. There's no telling where such actions would stop. Do you eat eggs? Well, you can't anymore because the cholesterol contributes to heart disease. Work somewhere else? It's not our problem no one else will hire you either. If that's Scott's policy, then they should simply not offer health coverage at all. Then, only employees who can afford to self-insure would work there. Competitive disadvantage? Of course, but that's they're bed. If smoking were illegal, that would be a different story. Drinking alcohol is legal, but driving while intoxicated isn't, and if I were to do that and get caught, an employer has a right to be concerned. But I wouldn't want to work for a company that is dictating my legal actions outside of the office.

Chapter 51.7: Kids in the Hall

It's Hall of Fame voting time again. (No, I don't have a vote.) This year's three big new names are Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken, and Mark McGwire. Gwynn and Ripken are obvious HOFers, so I won't even belabor that debate. And McGwire, well, that's something else entirely. Given what's been mentioned on the radio and online lately, a lot of voters have decided to leave him off their ballots -- quite possibly enough to deny him election this year. Fair play. But will that happen next year too? Is he now forever left in the background because of the unproven (but likely) accusations of using enhancements? Time will tell, and it will speak loudly. Personally, I think voters eventually will acquiesce and vote him into the Hall and others will decry it as hypocrisy.

On another issue, I'd like to throw out these names for the Hall of Almost Famous: Jim Rice, Goose Gossage, Bret Saberhagen. (There are others too.) In my opinion, Rice was a great hitter and deserves enshrinement. Gossage too, because he helped change the role of relievers. But I don't think either will get in. Rice's numbers were short of most of the major metrics (e.g., 500 HRs, 3,000 hits, 1,500 RBI) and reportedly his attitude annoyed the writers who vote at this point, but he came darn close last year so perhaps there's hope. Goose? It's a harder sell. No one seems to remember that after he left the Yankees -- well, at least after the Padres -- he became just another reliever. Other than his final year (with Seattle!) he hadn't finished more than half the games he pitched; this man was not a closer the final seven years of his long career. But he had several years as one of the best. Of course, his time with the Yankees is his claim to fame, and while he was the most feared reliever at that time, I'm not sure he kept that status long enough for enshrinement. The man wasn't Mariano, whose eventual enshrinement is a foregone conclusion. Saberhagen? Excellent for a few seasons (two Cy Young awards), but not otherwise close to enshrinment. He just didn't have it for long enough to deserve it.

Just another guy whose baseball card is worth a few pennies more than the common player.

Chapter 51.5: Memories (Context Is Everything)

Went to my high school reunion last night. For most of these people, I'd not seen them in decades. I haven't missed most of them either -- nor have they missed me. On countless faces, I saw the look of "who is that guy?" and it's not just because I've grown a beard since then. I was a face in the hallway for dozens of these people -- mostly the girls, for whom I was neither popular enough to care about nor good looking enough to go out of their way to know. I felt a little puerile not speaking with some of them this weekend. After all, it's been many years. But I hadn't liked their type then and if for only one night, they were those kids I didn't like all over again.

Some of my old friends had forgotten things or conveniently decided not to let them back into a conversation. That's fine. I understand. Many of us remember where the land mines are placed. And not every person believes an experience is for learning.

But things were still different. I'm a happily married man who doesn't need the approval of my classmates. And some of the kids I had secretly detested were nice, upstanding parents now. We had conversations. No promises of keeping in touch or anything fake like that. Just being friendly. Like someone I'd meet at the train station. And when my stop arrives, I'll do what I have to do and move along.

Chapter 51.4: The Bird

Another turkey come and gone. It was a pleasant day, despite the weather. No turkey bowl, but lots of turkey and several bowls. Now people are leaving. And the holiday season has officially begun. Safe home.

Chapter 51.2: Most Deserved Awards

I'm pleased to see the voters did what was right, once again. No, I'm not talking about America's voters and the Democratic victories in the House and Senate. I mean the AL and NL Most Valuable Player awards. Despite my hopes for Carlos Beltran becoming the first Met to take the award, Ryan Howard was a lock. He earned that award in the batter's box, no question about it. But he's a butcher in the field. However, fielding doesn't hurt you in this voting -- as long as you do it (not many designated hitters win the award) -- it can only help you.

Around my part of the country, it seemed most baseball fans expected Derek Jeter to take the AL MVP, and he had an excellent season. But Justin Morneau (.321, 34 homers, 130 RBI) was an enormous part of their Central Division championship. I'm well aware that Joe Mauer was the batting champ, but clearly the Canadian-born Morneau was the offensive firepower on the Twins.

I have no problem with Johan Santana taking his second AL Cy Young award, but I'm not sure if anyone should have won in the National League. I suppose Brandon Webb was the best pitcher over the entire season, but no NL hurler was really great. This was the worst season for pitching in the National League in a generation.

Chapter 51: Turkey Week

The Christmas commercials have begun, the temperature's been in the 60s recently, and the house is undergoing its annual makeover. That's right, it's Thanksgiving time again!

This year isn't any more special than previous years, but it'll be crowded. And not everyone will be in our tiny home in our tiny town. But the basement's ready for bumper pool and beer. If the weather holds up, we'll have a Turkey Bowl ("sponsored" by Bass Ale). And we've eaten enough food from Shop-Rite to qualify for the free frozen turkey.

I'm sure it'll all work out fine, but I'm almost looking forward to getting back to work in a week.

Chapter 50.9: Duck Season

Bruce Reed posted an interesting piece in Slate, where he discusses President Bush's lame duck status. He concludes that the president should learn from what the "Governator" learned in California: be more Democratic. While many would scoff at the notion of President Bush acting like a Democrat, perhaps they've forgotten that pre-9/11 many of his initiatives had that tone to them, including the Office of Faith-Based Initiatives. Most of those efforts were not only derided by the conservatives he rode into Washington on, they were also back-burnered after the nation went to war.

Chapter 50.8: Where Is Everybody?

Another one bites the dust before the dust from the midterm elections has settled. Mark Feingold has decided not to run for president in 2008. Mark Warner has done the same, and it seems unlikely (though not impossible) for George Allen to run -- of course, having lost in a re-election bid doesn't bode too well for the future.

It's still somewhat early. I've heard rumors that Al Gore has put together his old team, but I've not confirmed that with any sources, and I wouldn't trust a Web site by itself. Personally, I'm not sure that really strikes me as a good thing either.

Obviously, the parties aren't giving up, but candidates from both sides have been falling by the wayside. McCain's all but said he's running, everyone assumes Hillary is running. And questions remain about whether Giuliani is going to run. In the meantime, there's actually a country to run.

I'm looking forward to seeing what will happen during the first few months of the new congress. That's when any governing will happen. It'll be nice to see if someone comes as a leader out of the congress.

Chapter 50.7: Ed Bradley

Although I never met the man, I always felt I could get along with Ed Bradley. He was an excellent reporter, strong interviewer, and I had the sense that I could trust what he was telling me. I'd have loved to work with him on stories. Alas, that'll never happen.

I was sad and surprised to hear of his death. I'd seen a snippet of one of his recent interviews, and he looked gaunt. Though I didn't know he was ill, he certainly looked the part. Hopefully he didn't suffer for long. He will be missed.

Chapter 50.5: Mission Not Yet Accomplished

For many Democrats, the victories that will give the party control of the House and its apparent victory in the Senate, taste like dessert after six years of humiliating losses. And today's announcement of Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld's resignation seems like the cherry on top.

But I believe the honeymoon will not last too long. If comments like those of Howard Dean and even Rahm Emanuel are any guide, voters expecting an announcement of troop withdrawals in the near future will be sorely mistaken. During his color (blue) commentary on CNN, Paul Begala spoke of how control of the House will enable Democrats to provide "oversight" on the progress of the war. Oversight? The only oversight most voters are willing to accept is that Democrats will "forget" to find a significant committee chair in the Senate for John Kerry.

Personally, I suspect both Dean and Begala and others are correct and the campaign vitriol will subside. With the election over and Rummy sipping margaritas on spring break, Democrats will search for a face-saving way of not pulling out of the war (and let's face it, doing so too quickly would be a tragic, irresponsible mistake). Depending on how change happens, it will clearly have ramifications for the run for the White House -- not only regarding who wins, but who runs.

As a self-avowed (moderate) Democrat, I believe it's significant that the party won yesterday. But we should no more fly "mission accomplished" signs in Congress or over state houses than President Bush should have landed on an aircraft carrier hoisting a similar message. The mission has just begun. Let's see some honest politicians for a change

Chapter 50.4: Vote Early, Vote Often

It's here, and the pressing question is whether it will be more popular than this year's World Series. That's right, it's midterm Election Day.

Overheard on the street this morning: a homeless man stopped a gentleman on the street. "Excuse me," said the gruff looking guy. "What day is it today?"

The man heading off to work said, "November 7th."

"Is it a holiday?"

"No. It's Election Day."

"Oh," the homeless man replied. And I heard no more.

Chapter 50.35: If Anyone Cares

For those few people who actually read this blog, if you're wondering my opinion on the very tight NJ Senatorial race, I think Sen. Menendez will win. However, I think Tom Kean Jr. has shown himself to be not only a strong candidate but potent enough to run for other roles in the future. He might even be able to unseat Sen. Lautenberg in a couple years or run for his father's old job in 2009.

Chapter 50.3: Slapdash Prediction

Guess what, there's an election tomorrow! I played around with the election map on the New York Times site. Based on what I was thinking at the time (and since I don't live in Missouri or Montana, I can't say I really know a darn thing), I plugged in who I thought was going to win. The results: 50 Republicans, 49 Democrats and Joe Lieberman as an Independent, which means the Republicans would keep control of that house of Congress. I didn't have time to plug and play with all the up-for-grabs House races, but I'm thinking the Democrats will take a small majority there. Enough to save face in this mid-term fracas. May we live in interesting times.

Chapter 50.25: Eight More Weeks!

I'm facing a deadline. I told myself that I'd have my novel revised by the end of the year so I could show it to a young director who wants to consider it for a future film project. While I like the idea of the story being put to film, I'm not sure this is the time to start working on a screenplay. Yet, I need to revise the book for myself, too. I want to move on my second novel and also start searching for an agent. That's not a task I will take lightly, as there are too many sketchy characters working in the field. But I won't find anyone worth my time if I don't have a book worth a good agent's time.

And 2006 is fast running out of weeks.

Chapter 50.2: Ouch

What a beautiful autumn weekend! Perhaps I deserve what I got, but after jogging five miles Saturday morning, I spent much of that afternoon chopping away at some of the large branches that fell during the recent windstorms. (There's something oddly satisfying about whacking the hell out of something with a hand ax!) Today, I followed that bit of exercise up with a full day of raking leaves. I didn't realize how much a few trees can dump onto a small yard. My whole body aches. I'm almost looking forward to the work week to rest up.

Chapter 50.1: Next...

At least the junior senator from Massachusetts has apologized for his stupid comment. Now, if the Democrats are able to take control of the senate, let's see if John Kerry has any significant committee chairmanships come his way. I just don't see that happening, because he is responsible for the October surprise this year -- almost two years to the date of his failed presidential candidacy. Perhaps it's close to time for Kerry to put his name into the hat for the open president's job at Harvard.

Chapter 50: Taking One for the Team?

I've not yet read any articles about it, but apparently Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) commented that our soldiers are "stuck in Iraq" as a result of President Bush's policies. I've noticed that he's taking a lot of heat for it, but at my first blush, I wonder if he's essentially returning the nation's focus to the president, where Republicans are particularly vulnerable right now, in order to deflect anything away from the senate and house races that might hurt Democrats. Perhaps it's only a way for Kerry to keep in the public eye during an election in which he's not running for anything. Either way, short of an outrageous and almost instantaneously proven allegation, my mind is already made up on my local elections.