In another post I wrote about how American are not always leaders. I don't want to only pick on them; there's other areas where a lack of leadership is clear. American colleges and universities, for one. An example of the lack of leadership from college presidents and other upper level administrators can be found in New Jersey. several years ago the state was allegedly going through a "financial" crisis, and the former brilliant governor Jon Corzine wanted to save money by asking state workers to take unpaid days off - employees were locked out, and not paid. Some unions at the state colleges agreed to have their workers take ten unpaid lockout days, while other unions agreed to take seven days. The college presidents and other managers? They took less, most only two or three. Why? They claimed that the state (governor's office) said they would have to save a "percentage" of state funds, not take a certain number of furlough days. So at higher education institutions like Montclair State University, high level administrators took only two unpaid days off.
How is this a lack of leadership? Well, if there really was a financial "crisis" - unlikely to be actually true, as it was more the Governor and other elected officials trying to win over voters by trying to show they were "saving" tax dollars - real leadership would have been the college presidents standing up and together saying, "New Jersey is in a financial crisis; so we're all going to take ten unpaid days off to help the state save money, and we hope all other state workers do the same." Now that would have been true leadership. What is not leadership is being a weasel and saying, well the amount of money we were asked to save was a percentage, and it only came to two days for us. Please. What a bunch of slimeballs. Only interested in serving themselves, not students or taxpayers. College presidents in the U.S. are overpaid as it is, so what would taking less pay mean for them? Come on. College presidents are almost as bad as some CEO's.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Monday, June 11, 2012
An NFL training camp practice battle to watch: Minnesota Vikings' OT Matt Kalil vs. DE Jared Allen
The Minnesota Vikings' first round draft pick, offensive tackle Matt Kalil, is entering the NFL as the top-ranked lineman from the 2012 draft. It will be interesting to see how he fares in practice against All-Pro defensive end Jared Allen, the league leader in quarterback sacks with 22 last season.
Before the draft some scouts believed USC's Kalil was close to perfect as a blocker, and one of the most complete offensive tackles to come out of college since Tony Boselli - also from USC - who was the second player selected in the 1995 draft by Jacksonville.
Once the helmets and pads go on in July, the rookie will be tested by one of the best pass rushers - and all around ends - in the game today. Allen will undoubtedly make Kalil look less than perfect during training camp practices. But if Kalil can just hold his own against Allen, Vikings fans will have hope that the rookie will be able stand up against most opponents in the regular season.
The Kalil-Allen matchup will probably be reminiscent of practice battles in past years between Vikings' linemen. In the 1990's offensive guard Randall McDaniel and defensive tackle John Randle went head to head, and in the 1970's offensive tackle Ron Yary and defensive end Carl Eller lined up against each other.
All four of those players are now in the NFL Hall of Fame.
Vikings fans are hoping that Kalil and Allen will play up to the same high standards. If they do, Minnesota will be on its way to improving last season's 3-13 record. And, the future will look bright with Kalil at the key position of left offensive tackle. Last year's number one draft pick, quarterback Christian Ponder, won't have to worry as much knowing that his blind side is protected.
source for statistics: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/http://www.nfl.com/http://www.vikings.com/
Before the draft some scouts believed USC's Kalil was close to perfect as a blocker, and one of the most complete offensive tackles to come out of college since Tony Boselli - also from USC - who was the second player selected in the 1995 draft by Jacksonville.
Once the helmets and pads go on in July, the rookie will be tested by one of the best pass rushers - and all around ends - in the game today. Allen will undoubtedly make Kalil look less than perfect during training camp practices. But if Kalil can just hold his own against Allen, Vikings fans will have hope that the rookie will be able stand up against most opponents in the regular season.
The Kalil-Allen matchup will probably be reminiscent of practice battles in past years between Vikings' linemen. In the 1990's offensive guard Randall McDaniel and defensive tackle John Randle went head to head, and in the 1970's offensive tackle Ron Yary and defensive end Carl Eller lined up against each other.
All four of those players are now in the NFL Hall of Fame.
Vikings fans are hoping that Kalil and Allen will play up to the same high standards. If they do, Minnesota will be on its way to improving last season's 3-13 record. And, the future will look bright with Kalil at the key position of left offensive tackle. Last year's number one draft pick, quarterback Christian Ponder, won't have to worry as much knowing that his blind side is protected.
source for statistics: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/http://www.nfl.com/http://www.vikings.com/
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Why do Americans want politicians, not leaders?
These days there's more campaigning than governing going on. It seems like many Americans enjoy the nonstop campaigning and blame-games that all politicians seem to take part in. Maybe that's why reality shows have become popular. I think they're boring - why would I want to watch people argue about everyday stuff that I see myself everyday - but lots of folks just seem to get off on it. Then the majority of us get disgusted because the important things don't get taken care of.
Does the American government even belong to "the people" anymore? Those who have a lot of money to fund their "causes" seem to have most of the control over policy issues.
Politicians in the United States need to become leaders who will serve the public and deal with the tough issues in order to secure our nation's future. We have dilemmas now (energy, health insurance, job creation) because politicians in the past pushed things under the rug for so long. We need leaders, which means those who will be straightforward with people about what will be best and how long things will take to get better. And for us the people, it means making some sacrifices, something Americans haven't been asked to do in a long time.
Does the American government even belong to "the people" anymore? Those who have a lot of money to fund their "causes" seem to have most of the control over policy issues.
Politicians in the United States need to become leaders who will serve the public and deal with the tough issues in order to secure our nation's future. We have dilemmas now (energy, health insurance, job creation) because politicians in the past pushed things under the rug for so long. We need leaders, which means those who will be straightforward with people about what will be best and how long things will take to get better. And for us the people, it means making some sacrifices, something Americans haven't been asked to do in a long time.
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