The Truth Is...

My name is Murrell, and I've had a breakthrough politically.  The reason political ads get so negative and nasty is because neither party has done anything worth bragging about, so their only chance to get elected is to make the other party look evil.  After each debate I hear all the "fact checkers" pointing out all the lies one party told, but somehow they never talk about the lies BOTH candidates tell.  The problem is both candidates lie.  I didn't see much of the last debate between Obama and Romney, but I did see the exchange over whether or not Romney said Detroit should go bankrupt.  The answer is simple and complicated.  They are both lying, and they are both telling the truth.

Romney did write an op-ed piece for the New York Times where the title said something like "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt".  If you read the article, it does mention the government should provide certain guarantees for the auto industry.  Yes, Romney did say let Detroit go bankrupt, so Obama was right about that.  But Romney was right in that he did say there should be the government protection he mentioned in the debate.  So both Romney and Obama are lying and telling the truth at the same time.   

When the government was fighting for Obamacare to pass, both sides had their spin machines out in full force.  One party would run an ad saying it would strengthen Medicare and do all sorts of wonderful things, and the very next ad was the other party saying it would kill Medicare and practically lead to the destruction of all man-kind.  Who am I supposed to believe when I don't trust either one?  I keep hearing from the media that the Republicans are in love with insurance companies, but wasn't it the Democrats who passed a law requiring me to buy insurance? 

Take your political party out of the equation for a moment.  If I had told you right before the 2008 election that whoever replaces Bush (and remember how unpopular Bush was) in the White House will see the unemployment rate will get worse (6.7% in November '08 compared to 7.8% now), the National Debt will grow from $10 trillion to over $16 trillion, the price of gas will be almost $2 a gallon higher, and the troops in the Middle East would still not be home, would you think for a second that the candidate had any chance of re-election?  Not only that, would you believe that people are calling it a "recovery"?

I've always believed Democrats and Republicans are, for the most part, identical.  President Bush spent hundreds of millions of dollars to support a war very few people believed in.  President Obama has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to support economic and health care plans very few people believe in.  The media portrays Mitt Romney as a millionaire who never balanced a budget and who wants to raise taxes on the middle class.  The media loves President Obama despite the fact that he is a millionaire who hasn't balanced a budget and has already raised taxes on the middle class.  (Obamacare only survived the Supreme Court because they determined it was a tax, and it's not going to be the upper class that pays it because they don't have health care.)  There are Obama supporters criticizing Romney for agreeing too much with the President during the foreign policy debate.  Have you ever criticized someone for agreeing with you?   And somehow, Romney says the government can't create jobs yet still has a plan to create 12 million jobs if he's elected.  I'd love to know how that works.

Ultimately, both parties lie.  They tell you their version of the truth, not to convince you their way is the right way, but more to convince you the other way is not just wrong...it's dangerous.

The truth should not be subject to the interpretation of your political agenda.  It should just be the truth.

Thanks for reading.

It's My Fault Peyton Is Gone

My name is Murrell, and I'm going to tell why the only person you can blame for Peyton Manning no longer being with the Colts....is me.  I remember it all too well.  The date was January 8th, 2011.  I was scheduled to work both of my jobs that day but we had gotten hammered with about 30" of snow in the last 24 hours.  I had famously taken this picture:

I battled though the snow to get to work at the store that morning.  I was probably like 45 minutes late, but I was there.  We ended up closing early due the terrible conditions, so I decided to drive immediately to the radio station so I could work my other job.  I was scheduled to air the broadcast of the Colts-Jets playoffs game that evening.  I was there about 90 minutes early, but it made far more sense to just drive straight to the radio station and kill time there than it would have to drive home in those conditions and drive to the station later.

As I was waiting for the game to start, Rob, one of the program directors for the radio station, walked in and informed me that since there was a snow emergency I wasn't obligated to stay and run the game.  I told him I would stay because I didn't think it was fair me to work one job but not the other one.  He understood and told me to be careful when I left that night.  As soon he left, I started to rethink my decision to stay.  It was going to be a late game, and I'd probably have to be there until 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning, and there was supposed to be more snow coming.  But since I had said I would stay, I stayed.

A few minutes after Rob left, he came right back.  This was still before the pre-game show had even started.  He talked to me again about going home, and even though it was my decision, he made it pretty clear he would have felt better if I did NOT stay and work that night.  So, I decided to go home.

I went home and relaxed, watching the very same Colts-Jets playoff game on TV.  As soon as the game started, my brother called.  He always called me and asked what radio station the game was on because he didn't have a TV at work.  I told him the game wasn't on the radio that night, and if it were, I would have been there airing it.

David was clearly not happy with me that night.  Not only was he not able to listen to a Colts playoff game, it was his own brother's decision to not work that night that led to it not being on the air.

I don't remember his exact words, but his tone was menacing.  He had no concern for my safety and well being.  He said something like, "You have no idea what the ramifications of this decision will be.  You have just cursed the Colts franchise."

Well at the time, I just thought it was his way of blaming me if the Colts would happen to lose (which they did).  Little did either of us know that would be the very last game Peyton Manning would play for the Indianapolis Colts. 

I'm not sure what the exact series of events were, but clearly there was a butterfly effect from my not working that night that led to Peyton Manning's neck injury in May, his multiple surgeries, the 2-14 season, the #1 pick in the upcoming draft, and ultimately Peyton's release and signing with Denver.  Had I known the consequences, I would have stayed. 

To all Colts fans, I'm sorry.

Thank you for reading.

My Name is Murrell