Public service an honor but not a cushy job

U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland told retirees Wednesday that serving in Congress is a great honor and privilege, but not cushy job with lavish insurance and pension benefits that many disgruntled taxpayers seem to think it is.

He said his $174,000 salary is not so much, considering the hours a member of the House puts in, and that he had to sever ties with his family business in Panama City. Southerland also said there are no instant pensions or free health insurance, as some of his constituents often ask him about in Congress.

“And by the way, did I mention? They’re shooting at us. There is law-enforcement security in this room right now, and why is that?” Southerland told about 125 people in an auditorium at the Westminster Oaks retirement community. “If you think this job pays too much, with those kinds of risks and cutting me off from my family business, I’ll just tell you: This job don’t mean that much to me. I had a good life in Panama City.”

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Bag of Randomness

  • In theory, it shouldn’t take more than two hours to install a baby gate.
  • Peter King in his MMQB column estimates that Jerry Jones makes around $17 million off stadium tours alone.  Let’s just say you take away expenses like utilities (I’d love to know the electric bill for that place and Six Flags) and advertising, for, I dunno, $7 million, that’s still pretty good money for just having people walk around the building.  And that makes me wonder how much money has places like Rockefeller Center, the Empire State Building, and the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) have made just having people ride an elevator and look off the top floor.  I bet it has been enough revenue that a replicate of each could be build.
  • For $3.25 come by GeedingManor and I’ll let you stand on our porch where you can see the Dillard’s parking lot from afar.
  • Here’s a list of myths the Mythbusters will be testing this season.  I’ll be honest, the show has lost a little something over the years.
  • I never been a big fan of primaries.  The states that get the first primaries cast a lot of influence and don’t represent the country as a whole, so in a sense, they shape the election to came for candidates that represent their own values.
  • Letterman needs an updated set, or at least a new paint job on those purple/pink pipes.
  • I think my friend Jimi once wrote a college paper on this: Male dance moves that catch a woman’s eye
  • To mark the 30th anniversary of “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” a touring exhibition is spotlighting famous props from the Indiana Jones films and putting them side-by-side with real archaeological artifacts.  Link
  • I bet the Detroit Lions make the playoffs this year.
  • There was a local news story warning the public not to buy iPads from strangers at gas stations because inside the box is just a block of wood with an Apple logo on it.  Really, people need to be warned not to buy iPads at gas stations from strangers?  But then again, some folks are dumb enough to do it.
  • Do kids still have birthdays at McDonald’s?  I remember that was kind of a big deal back in the day.
  • ESPN College Game Day will be broadcasting from Cowboys Stadium this Saturday with Mark Cuban as a guest.
  • Form WFAA reporter Bert Lozano, who always looked to be in shape and in good health, had a massive heart attack at age 42 and is currently on life support.  That kind of stuff scares me.
  • Do kids still have to put book covers on their text books?  Our book covers always had a local funeral home advertisement on it, and that always creep me out.
  • It was always interesting opening up your text book to the inside cover to see who else had the book.
  • I was never much for high school pizza, but I did enjoy the Salisbury steak and steak fingers.
  • I had the same Master Lock for my locker from the sixth grade through my senior year, and I still remember the combination.
  • I was always lucky enough to get a top locker.
  • I never found the Trapper Keeper useful.  Do they still make those?
  • I have a bad habit of chewing on my pens.
  • I thought it was strange seeing friends doing homework in the morning before school started.  I was forced to do my homework as soon as I got home.
  • I always had the cardboard crayon box that had the American flag on it, and I always managed to keep it in one piece throughout the school year.  A lot of my friends would somehow lose the top.
  • I never liked writing on the Big Chief tablets.
  • I remember how badly I wanted a pair of Z Cavaricci pants in junior high, and my dad refusing to buy me any because “they cost too damn much.”  Dad, you were right, but thanks for always spending money on the shoes, I still remember my first pair of Nikes.
  • My mom use to only buy me Wrangler Rustler jeans, oh, and they were ‘husky’.  I vow never to own another pair of Wranglers again.
  • I learned the hard way in the second grade not to put a carbonated beverage in my lunch pail thermos.
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School superintendent gives up $800,000 in pay

Some people give back to their community. Then there’s Fresno County School Superintendent Larry Powell, who’s really giving back. As in $800,000 — what would have been his compensation for the next three years.

Until his term expires in 2015, Powell will run 325 schools and 35 school districts with 195,000 students, all for less than a starting California teacher earns.

“How much do we need to keep accumulating?” asks Powell, 63. “There’s no reason for me to keep stockpiling money.”

Powell’s generosity is more than just a gesture in a region with some of the nation’s highest rates of unemployment. As he prepares for retirement, he wants to ensure that his pet projects survive California budget cuts. And the man who started his career as a high school civics teacher, who has made anti-bullying his mission, hopes his act of generosity will help restore faith in the government he once taught students to respect.

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