Hypocrisy

The press seems a bit over-eager these days to fill the absence of political scandal left now that the Bush administration is out of office. Already there are complaints that President Obama STILL hasn't fixed the economy. He still hasn't solved our problems in Iraq or Afghanistan. He didn't stop AIG from handing out ridiculous bonuses to executives who drove the company into the ground.
Time for a bit of a reality check people. Outrage and hysteria are all well and good, but take a moment for rational thought to invade, and consider who put us in our present position and how long it took for things to get to this point.
It takes a LOT longer to fix a mess than it does to create one. Start today and put yourself as deeply in debt as you possibly can. Without much effort, you should be able to do it in much less than the eight years it took the previous administration to get our country this heavily indebted. Most people wouldn't be able to get out from under that kind of debt in two years, much less two months, and the kind of numbers the Federal Government is dealing with are significantly larger than anything any private citizen will ever have to deal with.
He has presented a plan to deal with it, now it needs time to take effect. Much like trying to lose weight, if you expect a quick fix and change diets every month or so because this one "isn't working," it never will.
One of the most outrageous things I have heard since the change of administration is Rush Limbaugh's hope that the President fails. Wow. This is from the same political party that screamed "unpatriotic!" whenever anyone questioned the wisdom of invading Iraq after 911?
How is it possibly President Obama's fault that AIG gave bonuses to it's executives? For years, that has been the status quo and they have been allowed to get away with it. Of course they are going to try to continue doing it. A spoiled child doesn't suddenly start behaving because you get a new babysitter.

Storm of the Century!!

I can't quite figure out why it has become fashionable for weather reports to try inducing panic every time we are due to get snow. Even more puzzling is the people around me who fall for it every time. Come on people, we live in Maine!
This year I even saw headlines like these in the Bangor Daily News:
Subzero temperatures spread across Maine

By The Associated Press
Yeah, subzero weather in Maine in January made headlines, imagine that! What next? Sun expected to rise in the East as day dawns?
Go to the grocery store the day before a snowfall. They are twice as crowded with gullible trying to get enough bottled water and spam to carry them through the crisis.
Go out on the roads anywhere when the snow begins and it's like everyone has forgotten how on earth they are supposed to drive on this stuff. Is the fact that the center line is obscured by snow really so confusing that you can't tell which half of the road is yours? Parking lots are just as bad. Apparently, if you can't see the lines, you may park or drive without regard to common sense or consideration.
I have lived here in Maine all my life, and it has always gotten cold. It has always snowed. WHERE are you people from?
Really?

You Don't Say?

CNN Headline News wins my award for stupidest opinion poll of the year. According to their polls, the uneducated are more likely to disbelieve scientific eveidence of evolution. The uneducated? Really? Huh, whoda thunk? I mean, lack of education and ignorance are ACTUALLY LINKED SOMEHOW? Why didn't I think of that....

little monsters

Yesterday I had the dubious pleasure of spending almost 3 hours in a doctors office waiting room. This is bad enough under any circumstances, especially since you are likely sick if you are there. Add some idiot parents with an unruly 4 year old to the mix and I congratulate you if you are able to leave without being charged with a violent crime.
Before the kid started charging about shrieking and banging things around as much as possible, we could already sense trouble. The father was one of those cluelessly aging men desperately trying to hang on to some of his adolescent "cool." You know the type; badly receding hairline, hoop earings in both ears, sad mis-use of current slang, clothes that would be incredibly tacky if they were on someone age-appropriate. (The muppet style uni-brow was just a bonus)
As soon as the brat started in, both parents began their monotone pleading, "stop, come over here, stop, come over here..." On, and on, and on with predictably no results. Some people are just too stupid and or too lazy to have children and these were a prime example.
So, here's a kid who is learning at an early age that there are no consequences for disobedience and un-civil behavior. Suppose he'll grow up to be a delinquent? It's possible that he won't, but...

Double Standard

How many years now have the headlines been filled with outraged accusations of various pro athletes using drugs? In my opinion it's nothing more than another excuse for the media to sensationalize something else and sell more ads.
Think about it realistically for a moment. Pro athletes are entertainers. Can you imagine if other entertainers were held to the same standard? What a great headline; "SPECIAL SENATE PANEL CONVENED TO DISCREDIT BEATLES WHITE ALBUM!"
~Originally thought to be one of the most artistically relevant albums in recent decades, the Beatles "White Album" has come under the scrutiny of a recent investigation into the use of illicit substances by the artists. Artists also under investigations include; The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Aerosmith, and nearly the entire galaxy of rock & roll "stars."
The panel has found all defendants guilty of using performance enhancing substances and stripped them of all awards and accolades. The panel's findings also concluded that the only artists worthy of such recognition since 1879 are Amy Grant and Doris Day, and has awarded them such honors as heavy metal and hip-hop artist of the year among countless others....

I Am Music...

I will be away for most of the day on a roadtrip. My girlfriend is a Fanilow. For those of you not familiar with the term it is how members of the Barry Manilow Fan Club refer to themselves, and yes, she is one of those. She has a Barry handbag, various Barry lotions and toiletries, Barry teas, a Fanilow teddy-bear, a Barry throw blanket, a license plate reading "BRRY4LF" (Barry for life), and many other things I haven't mentioned proclaiming her "Fanilow-ness." Wow.
When she found out he was playing in Manchester New Hampshire, she absolutely COULD NOT MISS IT! Guess who gets the extra ticket? Never in a million years would I have bought one for myself, but I am looking forward to it just for the novelty. How many of you can say you have been to one of his shows? (I'm not even going to say how much the tickets were. Let's just say that the only show I would pay this much for would be if the Beatles got back together, with John Lennon, and Janis Joplin was opening!)
I will get a t-shirt, and I'll wear it too. When you see me, feel free to point and laugh. You won't be laughing at me. You will be laughing with me. It's an ironic statement, you see.

Celebrity Whine Club

I am SOOOO sick of celebrity gossip passing for news. Especially annoying is when one of them is crying about how hard their life is. Please.
Today's "news" featured Ashton Kutcher posting a Youtube video of him complaining about construction work waking him up in the morning. Awwwww. Guess what, Ashton? Real people with real jobs don't get to sleep in until the afternoon after a rough night out in the clubs. Get over it and get over yourself.
Jessica Simpson's weight is also being passed off as "news" lately. Are you kidding me? Let's pretend that her size is actually news for a moment. She is still a beautiful woman. I don't know many who would think otherwise. I personally think it is just the media trying to drum up the interest of people who desperately need to get a life.
I understand that being a celebrity means losing some right to privacy, but did we really need to know so much about the death of John Travolta's son? Report the facts and move on in cases like that. Even celebrities are human and deserve to be granted a measure of dignity and privacy in moments like that. Some things are just none of your business.

corruption? stupidity?

I was somewhat amused at former governor Blagojevich's closing statement during his impeachment trial. It seemed that his argument against the proceedings was, "well everyone else does it, why are you picking on me?"
Come now, most of us figured out that argument doesn't work by the time we left our pre-teens. I was especially interested in his questioning "what sort of message will this send to other governors and politicians?"
Well, hopefully sir, the message they take from it is DON'T ENGAGE IN ILLEGAL OR UNETHICAL ACTIVITIES! You are in public office because we put you there, if you abuse that, we are watching and you will be taken to task for your actions if they are found to be improper.

Also prominent in the news is our President's scolding of corporate CEO's for accepting huge bonuses as their companies are failing and looking for government handouts. Good for you, Mister President! It's about time that someone in a position to do something about such things stood up for what is right. I won't be at all surprised if those CEOs are echoing Mr. Blagojevich's cry of "why me?" Maybe they should consider themselves lucky that they aren't yet being subject to worse treatment.
The French found an effective (if brutal) way of dealing with those who abuse their positions of power and entitlement just a few hundred years ago. I think our country will likely show a bit more restraint than guillotining those who grow rich while squandering the money of those who have supported them in the past, but I think they had best start doing what is right while they still have the opportunity.

Sulk 'til you get your way

So, President Obama's economic stimulus package has passed in the house and now goes to the senate. I am more than a bit troubled by the fact that not a single republican voted to approve it. Are they just sulking and refusing to play now that they no longer get to make some of the rules?
If that is the case, I suggest they GET OVER IT, and pretty damn quickly. If they are missing the ground they have lost in the last few elections, just keep acting against the interests of the voters who put you in your jobs. I think the voting public has made it pretty clear at this point that they are sick of business as usual in Washington.
Watch your Sesame Street, guys and gals, that co-operation thing they talk about will get you a lot further in the long run than sitting in the corner sulking.

We Got Rights

In the news lately, with some frequency, the subject of cell phones being used while driving has come up. Legislators are considering laws all over the country to ban texting or talking on the phone while driving.
I was watching the evening news and they were asking the public their opinion on the matter. The one that stuck out was one woman who opined, "They can't do that. This ain't Russia! We got rights!" I imagine she is one of the people who nearly hit me (or at least certainly someone who was unfortunate enough to cross her path) in traffic over the last few years. I can't count the number of times this has happened to or near me, usually by someone who is so oblivious to their surroundings that they are not even aware of their near mishap.
Yes, she is right, we got rights. Too many people, however, have yet to mature to the point of realizing that they are NOT, in fact, the center of the universe. Yeah, you got rights, until they infringe on someone else's, then we have a problem.
People like this are everywhere. When not driving around talking on their phones, you may have seen them in the grocery store. They are the ones who stepped in front of you while you were looking at the items on the shelf, and stood there in your way without so much as an excuse me. Common courtesy? Not necessary 'cuz they got rights!
Look at the piles of leftover food and empty wrappers in the campus center during the day. In spite of strategically placed trash cans scattered amongst the tables, many cannot be bothered with such menial tasks. You know why.
Now I'm going to shift back to the topic of my first posting for a bit. How could some of these people be expected to learn any more manners than the average stray dog? If you come from a home where both parents work fulltime, there may have been no-one there to tell you how civilized people behave. With prices these days and double the minimum wage barely adequate to pay the bills and have a moment to catch your breath, what chance is there that the situation will improve for the average working class family?
Its high time we got our country back from the banks so we could work on the little things that make our lives a little easier like manners and civility. After all, we got rights.

I will be using this space to, well, rant I suppose. I am a non-traditional college sophomore starting over after years as a D.J. in so called gentlemen's clubs. I'm very glad to be out of the business, and hope that I can find some measure of success in my new line, journalism.
Right now the biggest obstacle I face is financial. I have to say that I am rather thoroughly disgusted with the government bail-out of various automakers and such. While I am forced to decide whether to buy a required text book or pay the electric bill because additional educational loans are not available to me, companies like GM that have been mis-managed for years are getting billions from our government? How many students would that put through school?
How many of you reading this are familiar with the current prices of college textbooks? $95 for a SOFTCOVER book that will be used for a bit over 3 months. The bookstore will then graciously buy it back for perhaps $15 dollars or so. Gee, thanks. With prices like that, how does anyone wonder why so many Americans are functionally illiterate?
Being a collge student means having to work an irregular schedule, with limited hours, usually at minimum wage or only slightly better. The current minimum wage is a joke. For a 40 hour week at minimum wage you earn $290 before taxes. After taxes are taken out, you bring home a little over $200. A whole $200 seems like a pretty good amount, in 1986.
I live in a small apartment, one of the cheaper ones available in the area.Rent is $550 a month. At minimum wage, it takes most of 3 weeks pay just to cover rent. Add in the cost of electricity and a phone and you are lucky to have $150 a month to buy groceries and cover any other expense that comes up.
I am holding on, waiting and hoping that President Obama's inauguration will truly begin a new era of hope and prosperity to our country. If nothing else, I thank God he is not another Bush.