Whenever something goes wrong, right away people look for someone to blame other than themselves.  An easy and obvious scapegoat is blaming the government for not doing its job.  People forget to stop and think about what government’s job really is and should be.  They automatically assume that someone in government has control over things and therefore must have screwed up when things go wrong.

We witnessed it with hurricane Katrina down in New Orleans.  People automatically blamed the federal government for people’s deaths and suffering.  Was it really the government’s fault though?  If we got hit with a blizzard in Buffalo and there was ten feet of snow dropped in a few days, you can bet that there would be large numbers of deaths.  Would it be the federal government’s fault for not sending in troops to dig us out right away?  I think not.

When people started borrowing more money than they could possibly afford to pay back in order to buy homes they knew they could not afford, was it government’s fault for letting this happen?  Isn’t it really the idiots fault for taking this loan?  Isn’t it really also the idiot banker’s fault for making the loan?  Was it really government’s fault?  I think not.

No matter how much government intervention and regulation we allow into our lives, there will always be people who make poor decisions because of their own greed or their own stupidity.  If government is going to be held responsible for making sure this never happens then they are certainly going to fail.  They have already failed the more than 50% of city high school students who cannot even graduate from one of the simple stinking public school systems across this country.  When are people going to realize that it is impossible to control these things at a federal level?

We must accept responsibility for handling these things ourselves.  We must not blame government for failing at things that are under our control not theirs.  It is our responsibility as decent people to make sure that our kids graduate from high school.  Not doing so makes us failures as parents.  It is our responsibility as neighbors to help out a neighbor who lost their home in a flood.   It is our responsibility as workers to help our companies become more efficient and more competitive in the global economy.  It is not government’s job.  Their job is to allow us the freedom to do this ourselves.

If we expect our governments to do these sorts of things for us then we are certainly going to be disappointed when they fail at it.  Because they will fail.  You can bet your next unemployment check on it.

The federal government’s primary job should be to make sure that no other country attacks or invades us.  They simply aren’t any good at doing much else.  They certainly aren’t any good at micromanaging our economy or at making sure that everyone plays fair.  The original US Constitution was small and limited because the founding fathers knew this.  But people, in their infinite shortsightedness, forget the lessons of history and the reasons why the founding fathers agreed in limited federal government.

The reasons why we have the problems that we have in our country today are not because there isn’t enough government regulation or not enough government programs.  The problems we have can be traced to the people on a local level.  It is our fault.  We have taken things for granted.  We have forgotten that there are billions of other people on this planet who also want to upgrade their standards of living.  We need to become more productive and more efficient ourselves in order to be able to produce superior goods and services at a lower cost than they can.  Otherwise we will end up buying the products from them. 

The banking crisis was our fault.  It was our friends and neighbors who were buying homes that they could not afford just because it was too easy to get a loan.  Where was the common sense?  Where was the parent telling their son or daughter that they were going to get burned as soon as the real estate bubble burst?  Where was the wife telling her husband that this whole thing seemed a little too good to be true?  Was it government’s fault?  No.  It was the inherent greed in that couple’s veins that caused them to do that.  It was the sense that they wanted what the guy next door had and they felt that they were also entitled to it.  Instead of using common sense and good judgment, they let their greed get the best of them.

Now everyone is paying for their bad decisions. We are paying because voters decided it was government’s fault for not making sure this didn’t happen.  It is not government’s fault.  It is our fault.  It is our fault for not reminding each other that there are more important things in life than acquiring the most toys.  There are more important things like teaching your son and daughter not to borrow more money than they can afford to pay back.  How about teaching your kids that above all else they must save at least 10% of every paycheck so they have some kind of security when things don’t work out as planned?  How about setting a good example for the next generation by helping a neighbor who needs it instead of saying it is somebody else’s job?  How about we try to convince our brothers and sisters that it is never too late to go back to school and get a better education?

How about we try to show an obviously troubled kid the right path in life instead of blaming the police for not controlling crime well enough?  How about we get to know our neighbors so that we can look out for each other instead of just hoping the guy next door isn’t a dope dealer?  How about we focus on bettering ourselves so that we can earn more money instead of bitching about greedy businessmen running the world?

The farther we as individuals get away from the basic fundamental principles of human decency and personal responsibility, the more screwed up our whole country is going to get.  It is up to us on a grass roots level to change things.  This is how you build a great country. You don’t do it by electing people who promise they will do it for you.  You must accept the responsibility yourself.

The freedom of a people is directly proportional to society’s willingness to accept personal responsibility for its welfare and prosperity.

We had some outstanding prime rib at Salvatore’s original restaurant prior to the concert. The meal was fantastic and prepared perfectly. We also had a really nice bottle of Conn Cabernet Sauvignon from 2005. It is a Napa Valley Cabernet. I would recommend it to anyone who likes a full bodied Cabernet. This wine was really much better than we expected.

This year at the holiday concert we got seats close to the front. We sat closer than ever which was really cool. It is neat to see the violinists up close. JoAnn Falletta put together a great show that ended with a standing ovation. We got to see a special appearance by John Stevens who is the kid from East Amherst that made it quite far on American Idol. The guy has a great voice. I wish he would embrace the classic crooner style of Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby a little more. I think he would sell a lot more Christmas compact disks if he would just sing the songs the same way that those predecessors did. Nonetheless, his singing is top notch. He is just a bit too Jazzy for me.

There was also a gorgeous female singer there named Michele Ragusa. She is an absolutely lovely performer. We enjoyed her appearances very much. It is amazing how many high quality singers we get to see at these Holiday pops concerts.

If you have never been to one of these Holiday Pops concerts by the BPO, I strongly suggest you attend one. They are a terrific way to spend a classy night out with good friends. You won’t regret it. Whether or not Marvin Hamlisch is conducting, the show is always great. It has become a regular family tradition for us. We will continue attending the show every year so long as they keep giving this kind of outstanding performance.

I can’t believe we made it all the way to December first without any snowfall. This is unbelievable. I usually look forward to the snow to cover the ground in mid November. That makes it a lot easier to see and track the deer when you are deer hunting. Plus I hate having a green Christmas.

We have had green Christmases before. They aren’t as much fun. What is the point of living in an area that gets so much snow if you cannot have it for the holidays? I think it was some pope who decided that Christmas should be celebrated on December 25th. Jesus’ actual birthday was in late winter or early spring I think. Most people don’t know that. It was a church leader who decided we should celebrate it on December 25.

I wish they had chose January 25th or February 25th instead. Then we would always have a white Christmas. Plus, we could look forward to all the snow melting soon after Christmas. The way it is now, Christmas just reminds us that the snow is going to be with us for another few months.

It is easy to enjoy the snow right up till about New Years day. After that everyone around here can’t wait for it to melt and go away. Unfortunately, we are just getting started with it at that point. Most of the major snowfall comes during January and February.

With it being warm up till now, we are also at risk for major lake effect snow storms blowing in from Lake Erie. During years when the lake doesn’t freeze until later it usually ends up being more snowy than normal. This is a real possibility this year.