King of Nothing

So, Lebron James is holding an hour long TV special on ESPN Thursday to announce where he is going to play basketball. Who really gives a rats cadaver?

"The King" as Lebron has self-proclaimed himself to be is a slightly above average talent that was created by Nike. Trust me anyone can be great when Nike says you are but only until the hype wears off.

So I'll ask, "what is it that makes the "King" so great"? All of his titles? Nope. How about his conference championships? None of those either. How about the way his play attracted big name players to Cleveland? Shaq? Booby Gibson? Delante West? Scratch him!

In seven season in the NBA the second coming never came. Oh, he talks a big game, and the media talks him up, but would they without Nike's advertising money behind him? I wonder. He's the poster child of the NBA because of hype, not substance. The only thing this guy has shown in seven seasons in the NBA is he can mug a camera as well as Erin Andrews and Al Sharpton.

Striking a pose for the camera doesn't win rings, hard work does, walking the talk might but he has to show that he can pick up a team and carry it on his back for an extended period of time first.

LeBron better than Kobe? Michael? Larry? Hell, he hasn't proven he is better than Chauncey yet. At least Billups took a team of cast-offs from around the NBA and won several conference titles, a championship and came within 3 minutes of winning a second.

But Lebron wants you all to tune into the "LeBron Show" tomorrow to feed his ego. To pay homage to the king without a crown as he proclaims his new kingdom.

Thanks, but no thanks. Call me when you have won something. When you have actually led a team to a championship. Because right now, from the outside looking in, you couldn't lead a group of kids into a candy store.

Strike the pose!

Happy Birthday America

Happy Birthday America! And long may you thrive!

That is a phrase someone, somewhere in this country has been saying now for 234 years. With any luck someone will get to say it for another 234 years and beyond. But for that to happen it is time for the American people to start to take some responsibility for the future of this great country.

The truth is we have become a country of talkers and takers, but few want to give back. They don't because it would mean personal sacrifice, in an age of it's all about me, that is not surprising. This nation is being dragged down by our detractors from a far, and more so by our own people and elected officials from within.

Depending upon where you live you have been in or experienced some form of recession and decline in standard of living over the last decade. For most that decline hit its peak over the last 3 years, but believe me when I say, the seeds of the decline were sown years ago.

One of the things that have allowed us to thrive is we have been the industrial base of the world for the last 125 years. If you needed something the Americans would invent it or design it, and manufacture it better than anyone. Or at least we used to, when we had an industrial base.

It may have started with NAFTA or some other obscure treaty, but slowly and methodically we have given away our title as the Industrial leader of the world.

And before the finger pointing starts, this isn't a Republican/Democrat thing, it's a government thing. It's a greed thing, it's a PAC thing, it's a lobbiest thing, it's an ego thing, it's a corruption thing and it's bigger than one man or one political party. It does have a lot to due with us, as a people being lazy. It would be hard to hold our politicians accountable, it might mean we can't own the latest cell phone, or big screen TV. It might mean that we have to pay an extra $150 for a washing machine, or a dryer, and we might not be able to buy shorts for $6.99 at Walmart.

It might mean you have to sacrifice 300 channels on your cable TV and have only 50, and say to hell with 3-D movies.

A little sacrifice can go a long way to rebuilding a society we once knew. A society where we welcomed immigrants because we had a multitude of jobs available. A society where we had values, standards and a work ethic. That is part of the solution.

The second part is to really have a change in government. We elected President Obama on the promise of change, but has he really delivered? Do we still fall prey to lies and half-truths from our politicians?

It's time to grow a pair America. It's time to make some hard choices and take some personal responsibility. It's time spot being a sheep lead by a party, and become an individual that says he is an American, not a Republican or Democrat.

In the next 5 years we need to change our leadership from top to bottom. If they have been in politics for more than 2 years vote them out. They are part of the problem and not the solution. You need to send a message to Washington and your state legislature, which is "This is my country and you work for me"!

Just maybe, if we all pull together like those people did back in 1776, our great grandchildren will be able to say "Happy Birthday America"!