This Guy Will Shame You

Do you bitch about your crappy job? Do you generally think you are owed more than you get, because after all, you're the best at what you do and you aren't fairly compensated, right? Yeah, me too. We're a nation of cry-babies.

As a rule, I pretty much hate reality TV, but after the Super Bowl, maybe because I had a few too many and was too lazy to find the remote, I stayed tuned to CBS for "Undercover Boss." In the premiere episode, the CEO of Waste Management learned what life is like on the front lines of the garbage business. The employees think they are interacting with a newbie to the company who is being filmed for a corporate training video about entry-level jobs. At the end, the CEO takes what he learns from the rank and file and makes changes to the company. It's pretty schlocky at times, and the CEOs can come off as self-serving and self-congratulatory because they got down in the dirt with the commoners and got their manicured hands dirty, but it's a fun concept, all in all.

In a recent episode, the CEO of 7-11 does likewise, and he meets Igor, an immigrant from Kazakhstan. The guy is an inspiration.

Bridging the NASCAR Gap

While the Republicans hash out who they want as their nominee for the Senate race in Florida (Charlie "I Swear I'm Heterosexual" Crist, or Marco "I'm the Cuban Reagan" Rubio) one hopeful Democrat challenger is a South Florida Congressman named Kendrick Meek, and Kendrick's team has a brilliant idea. They're going to bring a little color to NASCAR. Meek is sponsoring a car in the Daytona Nationwide Series Race and wants you to join him and his family on Pit Road.

Why do I like this? Let's be honest, NASCAR has avoided blacks forever, and I'd bet for the most part blacks have avoided NASCAR. It's a redneck sport, truthfully. (Oh, come on. You know it is, even if it has been reaching out to include bikers and football fans, or the younger, full-sleeve tattoo set. Do a Google image search for NASCAR fans and let me know what page you get to when you finally find a black person who isn't the President.)

Meek's district includes Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood. It will be fun to watch him mingle with the crowd, many of whom will be overheard murmuring, "He's very articulate."