Where Have The 10 Years Gone?

On February 18, 2001, fans of NASCAR around the United States. People of all ages, race and religion, watched either at a tailgate party, in their RVs in in the infield or on NASCAR on FOX's first telecast (with Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip) the Daytona 500. To most people, everyone expected the Daytona 500 to be like every other year, wrecks, great passes and great finishes. Yet on that day, the finish everyone had hoped for, came at a price. Dale Earnhardt, the Intimidator himself, driving the GM Goodwrench #3 for Richard Childress Racing, comes out of Turn 3 on Lap 199 in third, and a whole pack of cars led by Rusty Wallace and Sterling Marlin on his tale. Sterling's Coors Light Silver Bullet #40 taps the back end of Earnhardt, who drops down and turns up, avoiding Rusty and crashing head-on into the Turn 4 wall, along with the #36 M&Ms car of Ken Schrader. Earnhardt and Schrader's cars came down the tracks and came to rest in the infield. The race had ended, with Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Junior first and second. This was Michael Waltrip's first win in 463 attempts. However, all of this, you could see Darrell Waltrip really on the verge of crying on air, for his brother winning his first race in his career and the fact that Dale Earnhardt had never left his car after the wreck. That's part of the story.

People asked me why I remember February 18, 2001 so well. I remember that day, age 9, I was home sick from having fun with friends and tuned on FOX 5, our local affiliate to see the running of the Daytona 500, NASCAR's most prized race. I watched all 200 laps and 500 miles. Yet, the feeling that it left me to see Dale Earnhardt had not left the car and was on his way to Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach. The thoughts going through my head, although only age 9, were very depressing. Around 5:15 or so, the news telecast broke-in. I was upstairs in my parents room, lying on my parents bed and watching the small TV in their room. I know the telecast had been interrupted and they talked about Dale's death. I couldn't make it through half of the telecast without busting into tears. The loss of Earnhardt was just heartbreaking. My parents had to calm me down, but I had basically melted down on the blankets in tears, it was just that depressing.

Next year, February 18, 2011 will be 10 years since that fateful day. I know its depressing to talk about the events of that day. I haven't seen much into the date of when its to be held, but if I was NASCAR, I would honor him and host the race on February 18, 2011. NASCAR on Fox would have the first Lap 3 moment of silence since the end of the 2001 season. The honor Dale Earnhardt deserves. The TV doesn't do justice. This man was for real. He had sense and I feel he should be honored, despite the fact that he has passed on. He was NASCAR. He was a legend, an idol, a great owner and driver. You could hate him or love him, but he was still Dale Earnhardt.

The question I ask you, the faithful reader, where were you on February 18, 2001, and where will you been on February 18, 2010?

Me to the NJEA: Students are NOT Pawns

-when a group controls the central government, it is considered an oligarchy.

- Jim Gerhart, NJ 101.5 FM radio, Trenton, New Jersey

This is ridiculous. You hear with Governor Chris Christie slashing the overpowered New Jersey Educator's Association, the biggest union in the state, paying ultimate healthcare and thousands of dollars to high-payed administrators in 612 school districts. What's wrong here: 612 school districts vs. 566 registered municipalities. Basically we have more school districts in Jersey than the amount of municipalities the state legislature approved. That is basically a 108% more amount of districts.

Governor Christie has come in to slash the power that the NJEA has in New Jersey, and despite the fact that people oppose and support the plan. The NJEA has sent out ads saying these cuts will cause layoffs, and raise residents property taxes. Hold on a minute...Governor Christie never once said that a result of these cuts residents property taxes will go up. Not once. The NJEA has spread these false rumors in television advertisements and as a resulted, should be cited for false advertising. Not once has the governor said that massive layoffs are necessary. He just wants public workers, especially teachers, to put some more money towards their healthcare, which isn't that hard. My family can hardly afford normal healthcare, yet they complain its a bad thing when they pay more.

I have seen steps in the right direction. A mayor of one municipality in New Jersey slashed his yearly salary to $54,000 (2010 dollars) to support the cuts and the average salary most of his teachers make. A recent report from the Star-Ledger, a local newspaper who is on questionable neutral grounds, said that Bergen and Passaic Counties have over 100 officials paid with six-digit salaries. This I find utterly ridiculous. Bergen County may be the most populous, and Passaic County may think running Paterson and Passaic can be a headache, but it isn't in their right to bribe for more money and six-digit salaries. These are steps in the wrong direction, but I want to cover one important step in the wrong direction.

The day it was announced a Pennington, New Jersey student had formed over 10,000 students in cities such as the largest, Newark, with a population of 273-280,000, to step out of classes in protest to Governor Christie's cuts, using the NJEA talking points, the reception was decisive. News coverage of thousands of Newark students standing outside screaming bloody hell about teacher layoffs in the only municipality that I think deserves 2 or 3 school districts was somewhat left-winged. And yet, I don't believe this was started by a student. I have a feeling the Pennington district asked this to be created and word quickly spread. Unless you're a student so caught up in politics that you're following their beliefs and ACTING like them, there has to be pressure from someone else.

Yesterday afternoon, my sister approached me citing that on several occasions in Highland Park High School, she has been asked to 1) support the NJEA, 2) oppose Chris Christie's cuts, and 3) Boycott NJ 101.5 FM radio station, the one my family listens to most. Politics have no right to be coming into the high school, much less my 15-year old sister being TOLD to do something she does not have to do. The separation of politics and schools has always been law and when obvious one-sided bias is being told upon our students to act in THEIR favor, its obvious that this law and my sister's 1st Amendment rights are being ignored. Have the high school or NJEA no sense of the Constitution? My sister has not once said she supports the NJEA, and 90% of the time, I have heard her oppose their ideas and beliefs. Asking high school students below the age of 18 to sign a petition being sent to NJEA for Christie's stopping. This is a clear-cut violation of her rights as an American under our Constitution to support a one-sided bias.

In reality, you can and probably will take this as a right-wing rant from a person who supports Governor Christie. In reality, I am a Republican, but there are Democratic measures I've supported. The borough I live in is a corrupt disaster filled with high-paid executives and questionable taxes that I never support. Word to the NJEA: STOP CORRUPTING MY SISTER AND ALL STUDENTS AROUND NEW JERSEY. IT IS NOT THEIR PROBLEM.