Election 2004

I watched the George Bush and John Kerry debate last night and was glad I did. The debate crystallized for me why I think Bush is dangerous. Bush repeatedly stated that a leader had to stay the course and couldn't be seen as weak by changing direction.

This is dangerous thinking. When presented with evidence that the current direction isn't working, the competent leader stands up and says, "What we are doing isn't working. However, I have a new plan that will take us where we want to go."

Bush has a dangerous one-track mind and an unwillingness to see or admit that we aren't winning the peace in Iraq. More importantly, he can't think on his feet. Nothing demonstrates this more than knowing that he kept on reading to children for 7 minutes after being informed of the 911 attack. He said he didn't want to frighten the children, but I can think of dozens of excuses that would have gotten me out of the room instantly and wouldn't have frighten the children. This is the same mentality that sent our soldiers to fight without the necessary supplies and equipment. We have destroyed a country that didn't attack us and now it is our responsibility to repair the damage we have done.

We could have used those billions of dollars at home on health care, education and feeding the hungry.

Bush said that it was hard to send the soldiers into "harm's way." I hate that phrase. It is just a euphemism for saying that we put them in a position to die.

Why is it so important for Iraq to have a democratic election (1 person = 1 vote.) We don't. If we did, George W. Bush wouldn't be president. He didn't win the popular vote.

If we are foolish enough to leave this man in office, we are just going to have more deaths. We don't know for sure if Kerry can fix it, but we do know that Bush can't.

Dick Cheney

In the midst of all of our real problems, we now learn that Dick Cheney knows how to say the F--- word. As usual, it's not the use of the word that offends, most of us already knew the word and its varied uses. It's that the Bush/Cheney administration has set themselves up as the guardians of what they have determined to be our family values.

Isn't it time to get over the use of certain words and instead look to the context in which the word is used? There is a huge difference in saying "F--- off!" which means "get away from me" versus using the word in a sentence with a sexual slant.

Why, for instance, is it politically acceptable to say "butt" and not acceptable to say "ass." Don't they mean the same thing? No one objects to the phrase "This is all fouled up!" However, "This is all f---ed up!", which means exactly the same thing, will get you beeped by the TV censors.

We have chosen to give power to certain words. Forty years ago the words "damn" and "bitch" had power, but today no one notices. Personally, I don't like to hear the f--- word overused. But, I don't like to hear any word overused. For instance, I dislike listening to anyone that punctuates every sentence with "you know." I have always said that I don't care what you say, as long as what you are speaking about isn't offensive and what you say is grammatically correct.

un-Reality T.V.

Has anyone figured out why it’s called “Reality T.V.” So far, I haven’t heard of any show that bears any resemblance to any reality that I know. Worse yet, PBS has jumped on the bandwagon. Viewers must be watching or we wouldn’t be inundated with the crap. What does this kind of programming say about our society? Have we really become this superficial or were we always? I wonder if book sales have gone up. I know that I have been using the off button on my remote more frequently.

Bill Cosby & English

Bill Cosby is my hero. Today he told the world that to be successful in school, our children need to learn to speak proper English.

Cosby said, according to Leiby: "Ladies and gentlemen, the lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal. These people are not parenting. They are buying things for kids – $500 sneakers for what? And won't spend $200 for 'Hooked on Phonics."

He added: "They're standing on the corner and they can't speak English. I can't even talk the way these people talk: 'Why you ain't,' 'Where you is' ... And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk. And then I heard the father talk. ... Everybody knows it's important to speak English except these knuckleheads. ... You can't be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth!"

He was speaking at an event in Washington commemorating the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education.

The Old Testament

I have been listening to the Old Testament on cassette. As I listen, I can't help but think that if this were a fictional movie, I wouldn't go see it because I don't like films filled with so much violence. I was raised with this book, but somehow I didn't remember all the slaying of entire populations.