A short list of unique tunes from the 1960s (with videos!)

I've embraced many technological changes over the past 20 years ... except for one: the iPod -- that pocket-size contraption devised by Apple which allows you to store, and listen to, your favorite tunes. (In other words, your own personal jukebox.)

I do own an iPod Nano, which I won as a door prize early in 2009. Funny thing is, I've never taken it out of its plastic case. It's still sitting on my kitchen table.

Some Baby-Boomer habits are tough to break. Forget the iPod; I prefer my car radio, which is preset to 12 FM stations (6 on the FM1 band; 6 on FM2). Each station is either set to a rock, classic rock or oldies channel.

There are laws in the books that forbid talking on hand-held cell phones or texting while driving. I hope no municipality ever conjures up a law that prohibits drivers from punching buttons on the radio while one's vehicle is in motion because that's my major driving faux pas.

I still enjoy the element of surprise that radio provides. You never know what tune you might hear next.

During one recent button-pushing session, I dialed into the middle of a verse from a classic hit that I recall first hearing as a snot-nosed youngster with a crewcut on Chicago's WLS-AM when it was a Top 40 station --"California Dreamin' " by the Mamas and the Papas. The group featured the late Mama Cass Elliot, Denny Doherty, John Phillips and John's second wife, Michelle -- the lone surviving member of the group (who's been married 5 times herself).

John made infamous posthumous headlines last year when his daughter, Mackenzie Phillips (One Day at a Time and American Graffiti), revealed in her memoir that she and her father reportedly had an incestuous relationship. (So much for my innocent childhood memories of the Mamas and the Papas).

Dirty laundry aside, the Mamas and the Papas recorded a handful of chart-topping singles during the mid- to-late 1960s. Here's a link to the video clip from "California Dreamin" (don't laugh too hard, those of you who don't remember, or never lived through, this era!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtVIhDgo_uU

What follows are a few more tunes from the 1960s (along with my own liner notes) that, for whatever reason, stood out in this impressionable child's mind back in the day:

"These Boots Are Made for Walkin' " (Nancy Sinatra, 1966) -- I remember first hearing Frank Sinatra's daughter belt out this ditty during, I believe, a family vacation in Minnesota. When you're a kid, and someone says, "One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you!," your ears perk up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRkovnss7sg Memorable lyrics: You keep lyin' when you oughta be truthin'; you keep losing when you oughta not bet. You keep same-in' when you oughta be a' changin'. What's right is right, but you ain't been right yet. A year later, Nancy and Ol' Blue Eyes teamed up for a duet, titled, "Somethin' Stupid," which also topped the charts.

"Touch Me" (The Doors, 1968) -- The following video clip is what I actually viewed live on the family black-and-white Zenith when Jim Morrison and The Doors appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show (a program that turned out to be a welcome reprieve after having to sit through Lawrence Welk at my Grandmother's house): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PECk9A-07Pw Memorable lyrics: I'm gonna love you 'till the heavens stops the rain. (Whatever that means ... then again, Morrison was a poet.) Morrison appeared to be on his best behavior that night -- a stark contrast to his performance with The Doors a year earlier on Ed Sullivan when CBS execs threw a fit after Morrison promised he wouldn't say the word "higher," which was part of the song, (as in high, a drug reference) on national TV -- but did so anyway. (Fast-forward 40-some years later, and just about anything goes on national TV nowadays. Ed Sullivan must be rolling over in his grave.)

"Age of Aquarius" (The 5th Dimension, 1969) -- The No. 1 hit of 1969 -- and the opening song in the musical "Hair" -- became an anthem of the psychedelic/long hair/peace/free love/war protest 1960s. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LANwIgpha7k&feature=related Memorable lyrics: When the Moon is in the seventh house, and Jupiter aligns with Mars. Then peace will guide the planets, and love will steer the stars. Actually, these lyrics, according to astrologer Neil Spencer in a Wikipedia entry, are "astrological gibberish as Jupiter aligns with Mars several times a year and the Moon is in the seventh house for about two hours every day." (But hey, whoever said song lyrics either had to make sense or be factually correct?!) The 5th Dimension also had hits such as "Up, Up and Away," "Wedding Bell Blues" and "One Less Bell to Answer." The group's most famous members, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr., eventually married and performed as a duo, with a No. 1 hit in 1977: "You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show)."

"Incense and Peppermints" (The Strawberry Alarm Clock, 1967) -- Great name for a band, and this tune had it all: a good groove, good harmonies, cowbell throughout (what song couldn't use more cowbell?) and strange lyrics. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhYLz63csS0&feature=related Memorable (strange) lyrics: Tune-a by the cockeyed world in two. Throw your pride to one side, it's the least you can do. Beatniks and politics, nothing is new. A yardstick for lunatics, one point of view. I get the "beatniks and politics" reference (both were centerpieces of 1960s culture). In order to try to understand the rest of this number, I plugged the phrase, "Incense and Peppermints lyrics meaning," into Mr. Google (still can't bring myself to use Bing). According to faq.com, the gist behind Incense and Peppermints is this: "The psychedelic age was in full swing when Incense and Peppermints became popular. Incense is often burned to mask the smell of marijuana. Peppermints are used to mask the smoke on a person's breath." OK, I get it now.

"Hair" (The Cowsills, 1969) -- The Cowsills, a family pop group from Newport, Rhode Island, consisting of 6 siblings and their mother, Barbara, were the inspiration for Shirley Jones, David Cassidy and The Partridge Family in the 1970s. "Hair" -- the group's renditon of the title song from the musical -- made it to No.2 on the pop charts in 1969 and was a million seller. Ironically, The Cowsills were all clean-cut. They each donned wigs for this video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFy-yzj02FE Memorable lyrics: Gimme a head with hair, long beautiful hair; shining, gleaming, streamin', flaxen, waxen. Give me down to there (hair!), shoulder length or longer (hair!); here baby, there mama, everywhere daddy daddy (hair!). The Cowsills also appeared on Ed Sullivan, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and American Bandstand. A few of the band's original members still perform together periodically. In fact, their most recent performance took place earlier this month at the Quad Cities Waterfront Convention Center in Bettendorf, Iowa.

Here's a PC solution to team nicknames that are offensive ...

Putting pressure on schools to stop using nicknames that certain groups deem offensive isn't exclusive to the politically correct decades of the 1990s and 2000s. It's been going on longer than that.  

Check out this list of schools/teams that have either dropped their old nicknames for new ones and/or have discontinued using their mascots at: http://www.jayrosenstein.com/pages/honormascots.html

In certain cases, I can understand the need to change a school or team's nickname because it's blatantly offensive. The most classic example that comes to mind for me is Pekin (Illinois) High School, whose teams were called "the Chinks" until 1980. (The school's mascot was a student dressed as a Chinaman who wore a coolie hat and banged a gong when the team scored a point.)

A few miles up the road from Pekin is the city of Peoria, home of Bradley University and the Bradley Braves. The school has kept the nickname Braves, but dumped its mascot several years ago.

Bradley is on a list of schools being watched by big brother NCAA for what it deems "hostile and abusive use" of Native American imagery. (Yes, this is the same principled organization which sets rules and regulations for everything under the sun, yet never seems to pass up an opportunity to make more money on the backs of student athletes. See Exhibit A: the NCAA is considering expanding the recently concluded NCAA men's basketball tournament from 64 to 96 teams.)

I noticed this week Bradley's students voted in a nonbinding referendum that asks school administrators to come up with an "appropriate" mascot. Pat Oklendorf, editor of the Bradley student newspaper, told the Associated Press he believes "a lot of people seem to be attached to the Braves name, but they want some sort of character (aka, a mascot)" to be put in place.

Here's a thought: if the NCAA really believes any member school whose teams bear a nickname it considers offensive to Native Americans -- or any other group, for that matter -- why not simply inform officials at each school that they have one year to get rid of the nickname and come up with a new name? That'll put an end to forcing schools like Bradley to continue walking this silly PC tightrope. (On a completely different tangent, why is it that there's never much of a fuss made about professional sports teams which have turned handsome profits with nicknames such as the Indians (Cleveland) the Braves (Atlanta), the Redskins (Washington), the Chiefs (Kansas City) and the Blackhawks (Chicago) for decades? Just wondering.)

I've got an even better solution: since every group likely can find something offensive in every team's nickname, why not do away with nicknames altogether -- from high school, to college, to pro teams? That's right! A clean sweep. No nicknames.

Think about it. Members of PETA, for example, are probably offended by teams that use animal nicknames. And I imagine any team called "the Cougars" not only would offend PETA members -- it would get an earful from single women over 40 who choose to identify themselves as cougars!

What about teams that are called "the Devils," or go by some other demonic name. It's got to offend some, if not all, Christians, right? And can't the same be said about atheists, who no doubt find nicknames such as the Friars, the Preachers (Johnson Bible College, Knoxville, Tennessee), the Praying Colonels (Centre College, Danville, Kentucky) and, of course, the Saints, offensive? Then there's the Vanderbilt University Commodores. Hey, isn't that Lionel Richie's old band? They certainly have to be offended!

We have the Agnes Scott College (Decatur, Georgia) Scotties, the New York Lower East Side Prep Immigrants, the Eufaula (Oklahoma) High School Ironheads (somehow I can relate to being an Ironhead), the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the Lewisville (Texas) Fighting Farmers and the Laona (Wisconsin) Fighting Kellys.

Then there's the Yuma (Arizona) High School Criminals (What are the cheers like at that school? Go Criminals ... fight, fight, fight!?), the Madeira (Ohio) Amazons (just the girls' teams), the California State University-Long Beach Dirtbags (that's the name of the baseball team -- I kid you not!) ...

And last, but not least: the Watersmeet Township (Michigan) Nimrods.

On behalf of Nimrods everywhere, I take offense to that!

The Case for Christ (Happy Easter!)

This weekend, many of us will gather with our families to celebrate Easter. We'll likely attend a church service -- Easter and Christmas are the two dates in which churches of all Christian denominations see their greatest attendance -- and head off after the service to an area restaurant for a nice dinner. (And if you're one who has given up a specific food item for Lent, you'll likely feast on that item Sunday!)

But Easter, of course, isn't about church services (as good as they are) or dinners, Easter egg hunts, chocolate Easter bunnies or Easter baskets. Commemorating Christ's death and resurrection is what Easter's all about. Remember when holding up a John 3:16 sign in the end zone was the rage at college and pro football games? Well, there's meaning behind John 3:16. It's a verse in the New Testament that is one of Christianity's centerpieces: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son; that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

This is the hope I have as a Christian. But admittedly there are times when I could use some reassurance. So if your faith needs a boost, I'd like to recommend a couple of books this Easter weekend you might want to check out.

I lifted the title for this blog post directly from a book, called The Case for Christ, published by Zondervan. It was written in 1998 by Lee Strobel, a former teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church in Barrington, IL. What's interesting about Strobel is that he was once an atheist. And I can certainly relate to him because he's a fellow journalist. (Strobel was a legal affairs reporter at the Chicago Tribune.)

It took Strobel nearly 2 years to research this book, and he approached his research from the mindset of an atheist. He conducted interviews with 13 leading scholars and authorities, and examined such questions as, "Do the biographies (contained in the Gospels) of Jesus stand up to scrutiny?" "Does archaeology confirm or contradict Jesus' biographies?" "Was Jesus crazy when He claimed to be the Son of God?" "Was Jesus' death a sham and His resurrection a hoax?" "Are there any supporting facts that point to the resurrection?"

At the end of his research, Strobel reached this conclusion: "In light of the convincing facts I had learned during my investigation, in the face of this overwhelming avalanche of evidence in the case for Christ, the great irony was this: it would require much more faith for me to maintain my atheism than to trust in Jesus of Nazareth!"

The other book I recommend is titled, 90 Minutes in Heaven, by Don Piper with Cecil Murphey (Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group). A New York Times bestseller, it's the story about Piper -- an ordained minister whom medical personnel ruled had died instantly after his car was hit head-on and crushed by a semi that crossed into his lane in January, 1989.

EMTs became involved with others at the scene, and left Piper's body alone for 90 minutes. They then checked for a pulse again. No pulse. Shortly thereafter, a minister arrived on the scene, and authorities allowed him to pray over Piper's lifeless body, which was covered by a tarp. Piper miraculously regained consciousness.

Piper underwent 34 surgeries and still lives with debilitating injuries. But between the time he was initially declared dead and regained consciousness, Piper describes in vivid detail his time in heaven, where he was reunited with relatives and friends who had died before him -- and the sights and sounds he experienced while there.

I've read plenty of skeptical comments on Web sites which dismiss Piper as a fraud who's out to make a buck. One post said Piper's books "follow a 3-step program: 1. Go to heaven; 2.Come back and tell about it; 3. Make money."

Although there are many documented cases of near-death experiences, Piper lays out compelling reasons -- medically based and otherwise -- why what he experienced does not fall into this category. I'd simply recommend that you read this book and its sequel, Heaven is Real. I couldn't put either of them down. And I can tell you after reading both books that I won't be typing in comments labeling Piper a huckster.

Happy Easter!

The Best of Junk E-mail: Volume I

Junk e-mail. You get it; I get it. I've learned my lessons over the years via the school of hard computer knocks -- in the form of computer crashes and viruses -- not to open the contents.

Most of it is laughably ridiculous -- especially those e-mails which contain a supposed "business opportunity of a lifetime" where one can earn $400 per day doing simple data entry, or notices from, say, the Bank of Ghana, that state I've inherited $3 million.

There's an institution in the River North area of Chicago called the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. If any of its students wants to become the next Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung or B.F. Skinner, I'd suggest rounding up a group of these whack jobs and conducting case studies to determine what compels them to spend all of their waking hours dreaming up (and sending) junk e-mails.

But I must say that I'm tempted to open a few of them just from what appears in the subject line.

I'm sure you've seen portions of those half-hour infomercials hawking album packages such as "Power Ballads of the '80s" hosted by a weepy member of Air Supply, Journey or Night Ranger. (Or if you're like me and don't have a life, you sit through the entire half-hour with a box of Klennex always within reach).

Well, in this vain, let's call today's entry, "The Best of Junk E-mail: Volume I" -- or the best junk e-mail I've received over the past 2-3 months. In another 2-3 months, be on the lookout for "The Best of Junk Mail, Volume II"  because by that time I'm sure I will have collected more memorable junk e-mail.

--From: Home Business Tools; Subject: If you miss this, you are nuts ... Well, since I didn't open this e-mail, I better make an appointment this week to lay on a couch at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

--From: TV deals; Subject: Yuck ... your keyboard is gross. For the record, I just purchased a new keyboard a few weeks ago and wiped it down this week with Fantastik, which kills 99.9 percent of all germs.

--From: Free Viagra&Cialis. Subject: Do not underestimate the value of free pills. I grew up thinking Bayer Asprin and Geritol were the wonder drugs. Times have certainly changed, haven't they?

--From: Mandahl Wabasha; Subject: Mandahl was trying to get me to purchase (what else?) either Viagra or Cialis. Sorry Mandahl; Viagra and Cialis are yesterday's news. I got a better offer  ... (see next entry)

--From: Smilin' Bob; Subject: Enzyte: male enhancement -- it works. I'm sure you've been subjected to the Enzyte commercials -- or covered your youngster's eyes whenever they've appeared on the tube -- with Smilin' Bob (right), a throwback to the Ozzie and Harriet era who is always sporting a goofy, toothy grin (persumably because he regularly uses the product). In one commercial, aired during the holidays, Smilin' Bob can be seen playing Santa while 5 or 6 women stand in line eagerly waiting to sit on his lap.

--From: Luis E. Coffman. Subject: Your refill is now available for pickup. You might want to give Smiln' Bob a call, Luis. I think he could use someone like you in Enzyte's customer service department.
--From: A friend; Subject: Someone in Glen Ellyn has a crush on you. Think I'll take a pass, and send her Smilin' Bob's way.

--From: Jessie SweetThing; Subject: My profile. Here's another one for you, Smilin' Bob!

--From: MR COOOL; Subject: haha Mike. Nothing like waking up in the morning and getting taunted by your e-mail inbox.

--From: Have a pain?; Subject: (No Subject). Yes, as a matter of fact, I do have a pain. It's you, MR COOOL and all the other pains who send me these e-mails!

--From: CassandraSchneider@e-mile.co.uk; Subject: I need to talk to you NOW. Cassandra, my dear, I know it's 7:34 a.m. in England, but it's 11:34 p.m. here. Can't it wait until morning? If you don't mind, this old chap is going to call it a night.

--From: John Stalvey; Subject: Mike Sandrolini You are fired! Bet you didn't know I was on The Apprentice recently. (Neither did I!) Donald Trump is a busy man; I guess he didn't have time to give me the pink slip personally. To his credit, John was kind enough to e-mail me several weeks later with the same message in case I didn't receive the message from Mr. Trump the first time around.

--From: Michelle White; Subject: My third and final e-mail to you. Ms. White (whoever she is) sent me another e-mail the next day.

-- From: Genrih Karpinski; Subject: Mike, Warning, Do Not Read This! Thanks for the head's up, Genrih. I just hit the delete button.

--From: Kaylee Wells; Subject: omg Mike! A Valley Girl? Sending me e-mail? Like, oh my God, no way! It's just like ... I'm freaking out totally!

--From: Glen Ellyn Tax Debt Assistance; Subject: Unable to reach Mike - 630- 26-8001 - For Your Tax Debt Refund. Accounting services apparently aren't part of the package with Glen Ellyn Tax Debt Assistance. Its lack of success reaching me could be because phone numbers in the U.S. have 10 digits, not 9.

--From: OSFAFinancialAidServices; Subject: mikesandro@msn.com, Looking for financial aid?‏ Finally, a piece of junk e-mail I can use. I've contacted OSFA, hoping it can negotiate with the Bank of Ghana so I can get my $3 million inheritance.

Tiger Woods and athletes as role models

Fighting for top story honors this week along with the upcoming vote on ObamaCare and rising gasoline prices -- which shot up 20 cents per gallon to $3.09 in my area within a 24-hour period (I guess it's OK to be in oil futures again) -- was our favorite philandering golfer, Tiger Woods.

Tiger announced that he'll be returning to the links for the prestgious Masters in early April. It'll be the first PGA Tour event in which Tiger will compete since all the revelations surfaced just after Thanksgiving about his numerous sex-capades with women other than his wife.

Famous athletes juggling multiple partners -- and in several cases, procreating multiple offspring from those partners -- is nothing new. I found a story on faniq.com, which provides a comprehensive list of former and current jocks who have fathered illegitimate children. According to the story, NFL running back Travis Henry  fathered nine children by nine different women ... all by the age of 28. Boxer Evander Holyfield has nine illegitimate kids, while former Chicago Bulls player Jason Caffey has eight kids from seven different women.

The list is quite long -- and shocking. If you want to delve more into it, check out the story at: http://www.faniq.com/blog/Athletes-With-Illegitimate-Kids-The-Comprehensive-List-Blog-17243

Then there's the late Wilt Chamberlain (left), who claimed in his autobiography that he had sex with 20,000 women (causing someone to jokingly ask if that number included the playoffs, or just the regular season). If Chamberlain's claim is, pardon the pun, legitimate, it's difficult to believe Wilt the Stilt didn't father a few children along the way. Magic Johnson, the former Los Angeles Lakers' star who remains a widely admired celebrity, admitted after testing positive for the HIV virus in the early 1990s that he had multiple sex partners during his career.

Tiger Woods' dalliances, which he rightly deemed "irresponsible and selfish" -- and are particuarly troubling because of his family-man image -- don't seem quite as shocking when put into the context of what other famous athletes have done. Portions of Woods' 13-minute mea cupla last month appeared to be staged (see video above, right). The cynic in me says he only issued a public apology because he got caught, but I'll give him this much: at least he took full responsibility for his behavior. It's also admirable that he's receiving treatment at a sex rehabilitation clinic, and is trying to reconcile with his wife.

But it's going to take a while before Woods restores his tarnished public image. I can't blame him for getting angry with paparazzi vultures who followed his 2 1/2-year-old daughter to school and reported the school's location. However, he better find a way to handle the scrutiny because this story won't go away the moment he steps into the tee box at Augusta National. He can't keep the media -- mainstream or otherwise -- at arm's length forever. And as much as golf is a gentleman's game, you can bet a fan or two will eventually utter something besides "You Da Man!" as Tiger walks past them on his way to 18th green.

Tiger Woods' saga once again brings to the surface the debate of whether or not professional athletes are role models. Ideally, a child's role model should be his or her mother and father, grandmother or grandfather, a teacher, a coach ... someone with whom he or she is in regular, if not daily, contact and provides guidance and influence.

Yet generations of children have grown up idolizing athletes, and athletes have to realize that kids look up to them, whether they see themselves as role models or not. Most professional athletes also are thrust into the public spotlight -- but that's part of the job, too, whether they like it or not.

I don't expect athletes to live squeeky-clean lives. That said, I don't think it's too much to ask athletes to conduct themselves in a respectable manner on the court or on the field ... and in public venues (which an overwhelming majority of them do).

Athletes like Woods are entitled to privacy, particularly when it involves family. But if an athlete's private behavior is reckless, and that athlete knowingly puts himself (or herself) in compromising situations, they shouldn't expect to be treated like an average 9-to-5 citizen if their dirty laundry is ever hung out to dry. Especially if an athlete is world famous, like Tiger Woods.

The moral of the story for athletes, celebrities and other public figures is this: think before you act. It's a TMZ world out there, with Facebook, Twitter, Google Profiles, cell phones, cell phone cameras, text messaging and video cameras -- and creepy paparazzi -- around every corner.

What do you think? Please leave your comments.

U.S. national debt clock: Check it out, if you dare ...

Earlier this year, a friend sent me the link to a Web site that keeps a running tab on the elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about: the U.S. national debt. Check it out on: http://www.usdebtclock.org/ . A similar clock displays the U.S. national debt -- and what each family's share of that debt is -- on Sixth Avenue in New York City. (Note: the above photo was taken when the national debt was only $10 trillion.)

Brace yourself when you click on the link, however, because the numbers are staggering. Most of the numbers associated with it -- the national debt, U.S. federal spending, the U.S. federal budget deficit, for example ... all in red (as in red ink) -- continue adding up before your very eyes at a blistering pace.

As of this writing, the current U.S. national debt -- the amount of money the government owes its creditors --stands at $12.5 trillion. That figures to $114,250 per taxpayer and $40,533 per citizen. (It's not stated whether these citizens are legal U.S. citzens only, or a combination of U.S. citizens and illegal immigrants. OK, it's a poor attempt at humor, but work with me here.)

A show of hands if you think the U.S. government will ever pay off this debt, or substantially reduce it. I didn't raise my hand, either.

Other interesting numbers:

• Total U.S. debt (personal, government, the whole shebang) is almost $56 trillion, which breaks down to around $691,000 per family and $180,000 per citizen.
• Total personal debt is $16.6 trillion, or around $53,800 per citizen.
• Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security are the largest items in the U.S. budget at $762 billion and $682 billion per year, respectively, while defense is No. 3 at $662 billion. 
• Federal pensions are $189 billion.
• Everyone complains about earmarks, and rightfully so (think "the bridge to nowhere" and other pork barrel spending measures). But in the grand scheme of things, the government has bigger fish to fry. Earmarks amount to just over $19.5 billion.
• The current U.S. population is approaching 309 million (don't forget to fill out your Census forms!). 
• Nearly 15 million of us are officially listed as unemployed. The debt clock says the actual amount of unemployed is closer to 26 million (a new person is added to this list every 8 seconds).
• The U.S. work force stands at over 138 million; state and federal employees number a combined 21 million.
• There are just over 39 million food stamp recipients.

Most of the debt has been accumulated since 1980. The GOP had its man in the White House 20 of the past 30 years, thus The Gipper, Bush 41 and Bush 43 certainly get their share of blame. However, while the President submits a budget every fiscal year, Congress has a significant say in determining the final budget. Democrats have controlled both the House and Senate 12 years since 1980; the GOP 10 -- including six years during the Clinton Administration, when the government had balanced budgets and small surpluses. Congressional power was split during a 6-year span in the 1980s, as Republicans controlled the Senate, while Democrats controlled the House.

Democrats will blame Republicans, and vice-versa, for the national debt. But given the size of this debt, I think there's enough blame to go around.

Recently, some of the so-called "Blue-Dog" Democrats have been talking about introducing legislation to add a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Back in the 1990s, the House passed a balanced-budget amendment, then it fell in the Senate by one vote. It's a nice conversation piece, but it's highly unlikely such an amendment would ever become reality. Two-thirds of Congress, and three-fourths of all the states, would have to support it.

Lawmakers, as well as the news media, usually focus on the deficit -- the difference between what the govenment spends as opposed to the amount of tax revenue it takes in. So far this year, the deficit is a record $1.4 trillion and climbing. But even if the legislative and executive branches somehow exercise fiscal discipline and submit a balanced budget -- or something close to it -- for the President to sign during a given year (or years), it will do little to reduce the national debt unless they're able to run off a string of substantial budget surpluses.

The national debt is virtually ignored, but Neal Boortz of SmallGovTimes.com lays out a compelling scenario as to why more attention should be paid to it:

Boortz writes, "Taking that (national debt) into consideration … add up the interest paid on that debt, plus the cost of entitlement benefits like Social Security and Medicare … and by the year 2020, that spending alone will consume 80 percent of all federal revenues. That does not include any spending for military or homeland security.

"Within the next few years, the national debt is expected to rise to 100 percent of our GDP (gross domestic product). To put into perspective, Greece – which is (currently) going through a major financial crisis – currently has a debt equivalent to 124 percent of the GDP."

Clueless Senator has no idea about unemployed's plight

For as long as I can remember, the Republican Party has been labeled -- fairly or unfairly -- as the party of the well-to-do. It also is perceived -- fairly or unfairly -- as not being particularly sensitive to the problems facing middle- to lower-income Americans.

Well, the GOP didn't help shed any of these stereotypes the past week or so, due to Exhibit A: some misplaced posturing by Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky, and Exhibit B: remarks that can only be classified as remarkably clueless coming out of the mouth of Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl.

First, Bunning. He drew the wrath of Democrats and Republicans alike when he initially decided to go it alone and block the extension of unemployment benefits on the Senate floor. Then, after GOP leadership pulled him into a back room and told him, "Yo, what are you thinking?" he backed off.

I understand the principle behind Bunning's filibuster. He wanted to call the bluff of Democrats and President Obama, who -- after ringing up an estimated $1.7 trillion of new debt since taking power -- went out of their way to say, "Hey, look at us: we've adopted a pay-as-you-go policy on spending." (In comparsion, the Bush Administration accumulated nearly $5 trillion of new debt in 8 years, for which he, too, has been called to the carpet.)

However, as much as I think it's necessary to admonish politicians on both sides of the aisle for continuing to spend with reckless abandon, Bunning looked foolish using unemployment benefits as a backdrop to make his stand. You end up alienating millions who, by no fault of their own, either have just received a pink slip -- I've met a few this week -- or have been out of work for an extended period and need a hand to help them get by. Further, I can't imagine you win many P.R. points with their immediate families and friends.

That brings me to Sen. Kyl (below), who it was reported earlier this week, tried to make the argument that giving unemployment benefits "dissuades people from job-hunting because people are being paid even though they're not working."

I am one of the unemployed at whom Kyl's remarks are directed. And with all due respect, I'd suggest it would be in the junior Senator from Arizona's best interest to venture outside the Beltway's insulated cocoon once in a while because he has no idea what he's talking about.

I'd love to show him the stack of paper sitting on my dresser, which lists all the contacts I've made to prospective employers the past several months. Or give him an idea of the time I spend on a weekly basis making phone calls, sending resumes, checking online job boards, going to career fairs and attending networking events.

I'd like to introduce him to some of the individuals I've met along the way. I've seen their resumes. Many of them possess years of on-the-job accomplishments that would make them an asset to any company or organization. They're not holding out for their "dream job" or demanding an exhorbitant salary. They're out busting their tails every day, doing everything they can to get back into the work force in some capacity.

For the record, one can't live off unemployment, whether you are single or have a family. The net monthly amount I receive is roughly half of what I made when I had a full-time job. I wish Sen. Kyl could hear some of the stories of unemployed men and women I know with families to raise, COBRA payments to make (provided they had health insurance at their old job to begin with), and college tuition and mortgages to pay off. Ask them, Senator, if they've got their feet propped up on the sofa every afternoon, watching Maury Povich and waiting for a direct deposit from the Department of Employment Security.

Just so I don't leave you with the impression that I'm a registered Democrat who gleefully enjoys browbeating Republicans at every opportunity, I estimate that I vote for GOP candidates well over 90 percent of the time for a variety of reasons. But when they're wrong, they're wrong.  And Sen. Kyl is wrong.

Although any Congressman or Senator can utter stupid remarks regardless of how long he or she has been in Congress, I can't help but think the longer one serves on Capitol Hill, the more one becomes detached from the real world. Kyl and Bunning, for example, have each been lawmakers since the 1980s. So has a Senator in my home state, Dick Durbin, who I personally would like to see on the unemployment after the 2014 elections (when his current Senate term ends).

Then there's the king of career politicians, Robert Byrd of West Virginia (left), who's been in the House and Senate a combined 57 years.

Setting term limits for Congressmen and Senators is wishful thinking, I know. But why not? Two terms for a Senator; 6 terms for a Representative. Twelve years is plenty. Then if you can't make ends meet on your cushy Congressional pension after you leave, go out into the real world and get a job. (Side note: a Congressman who's served 22 years, for example, and whose average salary for their top 3 years was $153,900 stands to collect a pension of just over $84,000 per year. And he or she can begin collecting their pension at age 50 if they're served 20 years -- or collect it at anytime after 25 years of service.)

I wonder if Sen. Kyl would be eligible to collect unemployment ...