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.