Some Things Friday for February 29, 2008

It's been a week of reorganizing and cleaning. I don't know why, but maybe because it feels like Spring might be peeking its head out from under the icy blanket. I hope that is the case.

So, on to those dreaded 15 weekly "Things."

Some Things I Love:

1. I am so hooked on the HBO series, In Treatment. It is pretty authentic and so intense. Human frailty, conflict, intense emotion, self-examination... the truth about who we really are. I love it.

2. Chef Gordon Ramsey has several shows: Hell's Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, but my favorite is Gordon Ramsay's F Word. The "F Word" actually stands for food, but it's also a pun for the other "F Word" that he uses as quickly and often as you or I would use the word "the". Rather than a weekly cooking talent contest, this show is sort of a weekly food magazine, which mixes recipes, celebrities, British consumer affairs, and he invites amateur chefs to help him prepare the food in the F Word kitchen. But the intro to the show is why I really watch it. Hotter than any kitchen, baby!



3. I love that the weather is starting to warm up. It will only be 65 degrees today, but that smells and feels like Spring to me. It is supposed to be 70 degrees on Sunday. Tom and I are planning our first BBQ. It won't be long before we can have our first outdoor crayfish boil of the season. I can hardly wait.

4. I love to read. I don't spend a lot of time doing it, but I love it. I love sitting in my big overstuffed chair with a cup of coffee or a glass of iced tea absorbing a wonderfully written book. Right now, I am reading a book Tom gave me as a Christmas gift,



His words weave such wonderful images.

5. Finally, Hollywood has made a movie about women. Not girls... women. Women with history. Women with wrinkles and saggy breasts and butts. Women who have suffered life's great joys and deepest sorrows. Women like me. The movie is Bonneville, starring Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates and Joan Allen, and I can't wait to see it.

Some Things I Hate:

1. The Children's Defense Fund has released their Non-Partisan Congressional Scorecard, which ranks Senators on their votes that impact the lives of children every day; issues such as health care, public education, poverty. Guess who ranks at the very bottom: John McCain. Yep, the Republican that is campaigning to be our next president. Every single Senator at the bottom of the the list is a Republican. What surprised me was that Arkansas, the state in which I reside, ranked as one of the best at 11th in the state delegations. All the other southern states ranked much lower, the nearest being Tennessee at number 29.

2. Did you know that Exxon has never paid the $2.5 Billion (approximately 3 weeks worth of profit) it was ordered to pay for damages done by the Exxon Valdez oil spill 19 years ago? Exxon is now before the Supreme Court and Chief Justice John Roberts appears to concerned that Exxon might have to pay for the destruction it caused.

In court, Roberts asked "So what can a corporation do to protect itself against punitive-damages awards such as this?"

Jeffrey Fisher, the lawyer arguing on behalf of the Alaska fishermen affected by the spill, had a pretty darn good idea. “Well,” he said, “it can hire fit and competent people.”

Go, Jeffrey!!

3. During his press conference yesterday, our illustrious president, Duh-bya, was taken aback when a reporter asked him if he had any advice for average Americans "facing the prospect of $4 a gallon gasoline." Duh replied, “That’s interesting, I hadn’t heard that.” However, being the complete jackass that he is, later brushed off a question concerning fundraising for his presidential library because, he said, “I, frankly, have been focused elsewhere, like on gasoline prices.”

It must be hard being a bumbling idiot all of your life.

4. I didn't watch the Oscars this year, but I heard that during a montage of past hosts and special moments, Whoopi Goldberg's appearances as Oscar host were omitted. Shame on the producer and director. The producer apologized by saying, "Basically, that was not a montage about hosts." It was actually "supposed to be a montage of 80 exciting moments of the Academy Awards. " There wasn't a more historical night for the Oscars than when Whoopi first appeared as host in 1994, becoming the first woman to host the Oscars, the first black woman to host the Oscars, and the first Oscar-winner to host the Oscars. You guys need to just shut up before you look more stupid and insincere.

5. This morning on the news, "Breaking News: Prince Harry Fights on Front Lines in Afghanistan!" First of all, I fail to understand why this is breaking news... or even news at all, for that matter. It's not that I don't think Prince Harry is a very brave man of principle. It's only that he is not the only man or woman in the middle east "fighting on the front lines." Why don't we hear about our men and women? I propose a challenge to ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and all the other media outlets. How about if you profile one of our soldiers every single day and report on who they are, how they are doing and how their absence from home is affecting them and their families. How about if we see fewer celebrities and more heroes.


Some Things I Just Don't Get:

1. The media has built Obama up and they are going to take him down. His supporters have been moaning about this picture that the Drudge Report says came from Clinton this week.



Are you all really naive enough to believe she (or her campaign) really put it out there? For the record, that photo was first published in the supermarket tabloid, the National Examiner, on February 4th as part of this article.



But, when the Drudge Report publishes the same photo 3 weeks later and says Clinton did it, you believe it? It has nothing to do with Clinton. It has to do with a Rethug media outlet playing the game. And it will continue to do so.

I know, I've heard your arguments. "Obama's leading a movement!" "We are listening to Obama not the media!" "The media has very little effect?"

The media that still gives Bush a free ride. The media that never gave Edwards a forum. The media that sold the Iraq war. The media that feeds you Britney, Lindsey and Paris 24/7 instead of news. Wake up. You all truly have no idea how badly you've been played throughout this whole campaign. Say hello to President McCain. And damned if we don't deserve it.

2. While looking for something new to cook for dinner this week, I came across Marye's blog and her post about Organic Eggs. It reminded me of when we lived on our 10-acre farm and raised chickens and ducks. There was nothing like those fresh eggs. The yolks aren't that icky, dull yellow of store-bought eggs. The yolks in the eggs our chickens and ducks produced were bright orange-yellow and tasted unlike any egg I had ever tasted before. We had about a dozen chickens and we had a lot of eggs, so we'd often give some away to neighbors and family. For a few months, we gave some to Tom's parents until we found out that they would take them, but refused to eat them and would wind up giving them away to someone else. When we questioned my mother-in-law about why she wouldn't eat them, she responded by saying she didn't feel comfortable eating them because they weren't "processed" like the one's from the store. She just couldn't be sure where they came from. WTF?? I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I wanted to say, "You don't know where they came from??? They came from the same place as the one's you buy in the store ~ they come from a chicken's ass!" But, I didn't.

3. Ten states have legislation in place that prevents hospitals from charging you if they make a serious, preventable mistake. That sounds reasonable to me. I don't want to pay if the doctor operates on my left arm when it is my right arm that needs repair. My state is not one of those progressive ten. It is on the list with the other 40 states. What happens in those states? Well, you get to foot the bill even if the doctor operated on the wrong foot!

4. I have to admit, I've only been in a Victoria Secret store once. At the time, I was pretty no-nonsense career woman on the way up the corporate ladder and the mother of two teenage boys. I felt pretty ridiculous walking around in a store frequented by twenty-somethings and filled with racks of foam filled bras and bins of lace and floss panties. It would be worse today. Now, Victoria Secret's top executive says that the company has become "too sexy for its own good." I think she's right. Photos of women in underwear and high heels? Com'on. I don't know about you, but I don't wear a feathered bra, barely-there panties and thigh high stiletto boots to bed. I would probably injure myself.

5. I fail to understand why so many people will purchase a book because Oprah says they should. Well, I guess if you're going to vote for a person to become the President of the United States because she says you should, you'll buy a book, too.

Change We Can Believe In???

According to this article from Canadian television, a top staff member of Senator Barack Obama's campaign "telephoned Michael Wilson, Canada's ambassador to the United States, and warned him that Obama would speak out against NAFTA, according to Canadian sources. The staff member reassured Wilson that the criticisms would only be campaign rhetoric, and should not be taken at face value."[emphasis mine].

This same information is also reported here the day after the Ohio debate:



So the promises Obama is making to Americans who are unemployed because of NAFTA are campaign bulls**t?? What a surprise! And, will our MSM even pick up this story? Oh, hell no!

Oh, and my take on the debate the other night, in addition to the one before that? Well, it's not hard to look good when all you have to do is merely agree with Senator Hillary Clinton. She was able to listen to the question and articulate an answer. Obama was able to respond by saying, "I agree with Senator Clinton." Yep, that takes skill. He's pretty smooth.

I bought a T-shirt. It says "Bitch is the new Black!" I will wear it proudly.

Wordless Wednesday

Hey, Jude... or was that Dude?

Do you need to smile? Do you need something to brighten your day? Do you need something to lift you out of your funk? Baby, if this doesn't do it, nothing will.

"Bitch is the new Black!" ~ Tina Fey

I have mentioned before that I am not a fan of Saturday Night Live. It's not because I didn't like it. It's because it started long before TIVO and it was on too late for me to stay up and watch because I had become accustomed to going to bed early and getting up early to go to work. Habits die hard. That's why I stopped watching the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (yes, I'm that old!).

Fast forward to the 21st Century.

I still don't watch SNL. The only time I've seen it is when we visit Mike and Kathy. When I've watched it at their house, I loved it! So, now I have a TIVO and I still don't watch it, but I have finally added it to my list of programs to record, although I added too late to catch SNL last Saturday night and, of course, that's the one that is being pumped by the MSM right now.

I've seen clips on You-tube and watched this clip on Huffington Post:



And this long one (8 minutes and 20 seconds) mocking CNN for it's handling of the Democratic Presidential Debate.



People are pissed about these skits. Not just people. Obama people. If you read any of the comments on Huffington Post, CNN, or any where else, you will read words like "boring," "not funny," "racist," "do people watch this show anymore?"

Gee, their candidate isn't getting the usual free pass on SNL? Oh, how terrible. Just when his supporters were getting used to the free pass on every major network and with every major media outlet, internet, television, radio or print.

I am, as you might have guessed, sick of Obamania. It is impossible to respond to a comment, express an opinion or present a fact in opposition to Obama without many of his supporters acting like gangsters.

For some odd reason, Obama supporters refuse to see the whole picture. They don't see him as a politician. When they look at him, this is what they see:



They couldn't be more wrong. He is not a savior. He is not a superhero. He is a politician with very little experience and a naive vision. My mother would have said it best. "He knows just enough to be dangerous!"

“The office of president is a bastardized thing... nobody knows whether to genuflect or spit.” ~ Jimmy Breslin

My mother had a charming saying... "I'm so mad, I could spit." Okay, it's not particularly charming, but I am that mad!

If you are opposed or sensitive to profanity, I suggest you stop reading now. Really. Stop right now.

Okay, you have been warned and you have chosen to continue at your own risk.

Yes, I am so mad, I could spit. I just happened to run across this article, which has me seething.

George Bush is concerned about the recession. But, he's not really concerned about us. He's not concerned that some of us can already barely make ends meet. He's not concerned that we have record bankruptcies. He's not concerned that gasoline prices have risen nearly a $1.00 a gallon in the last year and some folks are struggling to even get to work. He's not concerned that food costs are rising because of gasoline prices. He's not concerned that there are record foreclosures and citizens are losing their homes because of unscrupulous lenders. He's not concerned that the housing market has pretty much tanked. He's not concerned that more Americans have taken record cash advances from their credit cards just to survive.

No, George Bush isn't worried about any of that. What worries George Bush about the recession is that it may affect the sales of his memoirs. He wants the nation to pull out of the recession by December 10, 2010 which is the schedule release date for his autobiography, Born Leading (I won't even begin to comment on the book's title). Mr. Sensitivity was quoted as saying, ""It would be a terrible tragedy if this massive economic downturn left the average American family unable to afford the $39.95 plus tax they need to buy my book."

George Bush, I am completely disgusted by your contemptuous disregard for the United States of America and the American people; and I am appalled and sickened by your blatant arrogance; and I have only two words for you,

FUCK YOU!!!

The Art of Feng Shui

It was about 10:00 p.m. and I was laying in bed watching television. The volume was low so I wouldn't disturb Tom, who had fallen asleep. He began to snore. The snoring was pretty quiet at first, then over several minutes, got a little bit louder; then a little bit louder still until finally I touched his arm and said, "Tom, you're snoring."

So, the smart ass woke up out of a sound sleep, rolled over and, without even opening his eyes, responded,

"No, I'm not. I'm realigning the harmonic vibrations in the room. It's a Feng Shui thing."

Some Things Friday for February 22, 2008

It has been a cold, rainy, icy and just flat out really bad week.

I received an email this week from one of my sisters informing me that another sister was diagnosed with lung cancer after being rushed to the hospital when she was unable to breathe.

It brought back memories of September, 1991. I was on vacation with my sister-in-law and called Tom about mid-week. He had talked to my mom. She had rushed my father to the doctor because he was having trouble breathing. When I called home two days later, Tom said my dad had been diagnosed with lung cancer. My father died 3-1/2 months later. Lung cancer in those final stages is deadly.

Although we don't have a full prognosis, it really doesn't look very good for my sister. The cancer has apparently spread to other parts of her body. If you are religious or spiritual at all, I ask that you keep her and her family in your prayers. If you are not religious or spiritual, please send positive energy or thoughts to her.


Some Things I Love:

1. Let me tell you something about my husband, Tom. For as long as I've known him, and from what I hear from his parents even before I met him, he was the straightest of straight guys ever. I am not talking about sexual orientation. For the most part, he did what he was supposed to do or at the very least what was expected of him. He went to school, really liked it and did well. He played sports, first football, then water polo. In high school and college he worked part-time, made his own money, bought his own car, never missed a birthday. After two years of college, he joined the Air Force, met the woman of his dreams (ME!), had kids and loved and provided for his family very well. He asked little for himself, but always made sure his wife and kids had the best. He dressed pretty conservative, kept his hair short, fingernails trimmed and shoes shined. So when he said he might want to get a tattoo about three years ago, I was more than a little surprised. Fast forward to this past Wednesday evening when he returned from Primal Urge Tattoos, where Ryan Cook did Tom's fourth tattoo. All of Tom's tattoos have an ocean or water theme: a sail boat, a hammerhead shark protecting a scroll carrying the names of his six grandchildren; a Portuguese Man o' War protecting a clown fish (Nemo) in it's tentacles; and the most recent one is a rendition of Neptune/Poseidon. So, Thursday morning I took photos of the new tattoo and sent them to our kids and two oldest grandkids. Our youngest son called Thursday evening to let his Dad know how much he liked it and asked for another photo to get a better idea of how big it was. I took this picture and sent it to Chris in an email:




Chris' email response simply stated: Men with cool tattoos should NOT wear PINK SHIRTS....

2. My daughter-in-law, Kathy, has asked me to give her some genealogical information for my side of the family. She wants to have a family tree ~ a family history ~ for her children. I admire this. A lot of parents don't realize how much their children care about their history. I didn't really have a lot. My mom didn't keep many photos and kept fewer records. What she did leave didn't give much information at all and whatever information other family members may have was never shared, so her request has sent me on a search, where I have discovered new information about my family, primarily my maternal grandfather and grandmother. It sends chills up the back of my neck when I see my grandmother's name on the entry documents when she arrived in this country. What would people do without the internet?

3. I would love to let my hair grow. I just know I would love it. If only I could get passed THE STAGE... Yep, that's why my hair is still short.

4. Cooking, but not today. Tonight Tom will cook and it will be wonderful!

5. I love all of the big newspapers that you can now read online. I'm a big news reader. The New York Times, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle along with all the other websites that are a part of the print media. You don't have to subscribe to any of them, although you might have to register, and you are saving trees!



Some Things I Hate:

1. My mother had an expression. When a person was being arrogant, and believed they were superior to and dismissive of another, she would say they were "looking down their nose" at the other person. That phrase is accurately and eerily descriptive when given a visual example:



These photos were not captured last night at the debate, but they could have been. Don't those looks say, "I'm the Decider" to you? God knows, we don't need another eight years of sneering or smirking.

2. Aside from how I feel about Barack Obama's candidacy and his ability to lead this country, when I read this article, which reported that Dallas police were told to stop screening people for weapons at an Obama rally, I was concerned. Stop screening for weapons? In Dallas? There are three things that worry me about this. First, wouldn't this be considered a major lapse in national security (at the very least), which calls into serious question the effectiveness of the Secret Service and Homeland Security. Second, there are still those people out there who still consider a threat, the rise of an African-American to any position in this country, let alone the Presidency. Those same people would attempt to destroy any message that black and white are equal. Third, the lack of security is made public. Why don't they just offer an open invitation to any wack-job on the street?

3. Heartburn in the middle of the night. Hours of burping. Hours without sleep. No wonder I am cranky this morning.

4. I hate seeing headlines about what happened on Survivor last night. I didn't watch it because I was watching the debate instead, but I am soooo tempted to look and see what happened. But I won't.

5. Hamburger! After the recall this month and the video of what they were doing to the cattle, I may be off of hamburger for good.

Some Things I Don't Get:

1. According to this article, banks have "quietly" borrowed $50 Billion from the U.S. Federal Reserve to bale them out of their mortgage crunch. Do you think that money will be used to help the 1.3 million homeowners in foreclosure? No, I don't either.

2. Okay, you know all those words that people create for individuals or groups of supporters using the candidates name? Hillbot, Obamabot, Obamania, McLame and on and on. Well I have created a new one ~ Obamincindent: The act or occurence of excessive Obama reverence or adoration. Thursday morning I was treated to yet another Obamincident that left me shaking my head in profound disbelief. According to a short (thank God!) article in the Baltimore Sun, Senator Obama received APPLAUSE when he stopped in the middle of a speech to blow his nose. Applause???? Come on, people. What are you thinking?

3. So now the media, mainly the New York Times, is apparently delving into the sex lives of politicians. Right now it's John McCain, but the whole trend started with Bill Clinton. Political rivals seemingly will stop at nothing to smear another candidate and the media plays right into their greedy despicable plots. Granted, with McCain it is allegedly a lobbyist with whom he was sexually involved and, therefore, the appearance of conflict of interest. But, I don't care about their sex lives. I've seen the videos of the guy who says he had sex with Obama. If he did, I don't care. I don't care if Ted Haggard is gay. I don't care if Larry Craig is gay or bi-sexual. I don't care if Jimmy Swaggert had sex with a prostitute. I don't care if JFK had sex with Marilyn Monroe. I may call them on their hypocrisy of their votes and make a joke about their denial, but I DON'T CARE!! And, I don't understand why anyone else does either.

4. Why do people think reality tv is reality? I love it, but it's not really real... well,except for John & Kate plus Eight... maybe, just a little... Oh, yeah, and Survivor. Okay, never mind.

5. It rains here a lot. In the winter, we get ice and, sometimes, snow storms. But, it never ceases to amaze me how ill prepared the road services (and the drivers) are when the weather finally hits. No sanding or plowing during the storms, but they will sand the ice afterward. And, they merely close the schools and other services. States like New York, Illinois, Minnesota, Colorado and places like Lake Tahoe (Nevada and California) could pick up some extra pocket money by developing courses in winter storm preparedness to present to states like Arkansas that don't have a clue what to do when weather strikes!

Wordless Wednesday

I know it is supposed to be Wordless Wednesday, but when I saw this video this morning my head filled with words.



This is a problem for me. Generally, a supporter of a political candidate can articulate at least one or two accomplishments or problem resolutions that their candidate brings to the table; something beyond "he can inspire." Lance Armstrong inspires. Maya Angelou inspires. Toni Morrison inspires. Billy Graham inspires. But I don't believe any of them are qualified to be President of the United States.

This clip is not the only incidence of a supporter's inability to move beyond "he can inspire" or "he can bring people together." I've seen other clips of his "fans" who were unable to answer the same question.

They can't tell you that rather than voting yes or no to confirm Michael Mukasey as Attorney General, Obama just didn't vote. He also didn't bother to vote on a bill to reauthorize the Head Start Act (to improve program quality and expand access for this program). He didn't vote on a bill that would provide for the conservation and development of water resources. He didn't vote on the bill to amend title XXI of the Social Security Act to extend and improve the Children's Health Insurance Program. He didn't vote on the Amendment that would prohibit providing funds to doctors and clinics who perform abortions. I could go on and on. He doesn't vote more than he votes. And what is his current job? Senator? Isn't representing his constituents and the American people by voting on our behalf his job?? But, I digress somewhat.

I think that is part of what is bothering me about Barack Obama and his campaign. He generates "fans" not supporters. That scares the hell out of me because "fans" aren't thinking about the future. They're not thinking about the war, the economy, health care or the deficit. Fans are thinking about the celebrity, the subject of their adoration. Watching an Obama event is like watching a rock concert. Instead of chanting the titles of songs they want to hear or singing the lyrics along with the band, Obama "fans" chant excitedly, "Yes We Can", "Yes We Can." But as Craig Crawford says in his blog on Huffington Post, "Yes We Can WHAT?"

When his "fans" can answer that question with some cold, hard facts and solutions, then and only then will I consider changing my mind.

Some Things Friday for February 15, 2008

After a very over-indulgent Valentine's Day dinner that you can read about tomorrow on my other blog, Terri's Table, it's time to cleanse the soul, so to speak.

Some Things I Love:

1. I love planning a special meal or event just as much as I love executing it. Valentine's Day dinner was no exception. It was perfect.

2. I love my husband. He is warm, loving, funny, generous, hard working and loves me (go figure).

3. The House passed a contempt of congress resolution yesterday. The resolution holds Bush lackeys Josh Bolten and Harriet Miers in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify about the firing of certain US Attorneys. It appears that some of our politicians weren't castrated after all.

4. A cat's purr.

5. Book stores. I could spend hours just browsing.

Some Things I Hate:

1. This is precisely why I hate the tabloids. In the market last week, I passed an OK! magazine and Eric Dane (McSteamy on Grey's Anatomy) surrounded by a caption that read, "My Fight Against Cancer." I thought to myself, "How sad. I hope he survives." This week I find out that his "fight against cancer" was merely having some malignant cells on his lip frozen off with liquid nitrogen in a doctor's office.

2. Being bitchy with Tom when I am really pissed about something else.

3. Now that Arkansas (FINALLY) has a law forbidding smoking in public places, everyone stands outside, right in front of the entrance, smoking! Ick, ick, ick!

4. MTV. I guess I'm just an old fogey. I can't believe parents allow their teenagers to watch that stuff.

5. Going to a movie theater. People have developed the "My Living Room Syndrome" and have forgotten that they are NOT sitting on their own couch in their own living room and they can't pause the movie to carry on a conversation! In other words, people can't shut up!

Some Things I Just Don't Get:

1. What is it with Congress and MSM (mainstream media)? We have a war in Iraq with our young men and women dying every single day. We have a primary election season where the race is closer than I can ever remember. We have a Senate that is voting to ban waterboarding. We have an economy in the toilet and we have record foreclosures. And, what do we get to watch on CNN and MSNBC all day long? We get to watch Congress interrogate a baseball player about his purported use of HGH. Who cares? Why is this an F5 on the Fujita scale of importance in the daily lives of Americans?

2. First, full disclosure. I wanted Al Gore to run for President again. When I finally woke up and realized he was not going to run, I waffled between John Edwards and Hillary Clinton, but eventually chose Hillary Clinton and have put my money where my mouth is, so to speak. So now, what is it I just don't get? Obamamania. The guy gives a good speech, but that's about it (at least, in my humble opinion ~ and after all it is my blog). I'll give it to you that he made a speech against the war. Okay, so what has he done since he's been in the Senate? He's voted to fund it every time. He says he is the agent of change and represents the new guard in Washington, yet he has surrounded himself with the likes of John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, Patrick Leahy and Tom Daschle. Change?? Helloooo!

3. People got their panties in a wad over Jane Fonda using the "C**T" word on television.


Get a grip folks. If you live to be 70 years old and producers still think you are relevant and want you to perform "The Vagina Monologues" on stage (a really wonderful experience, by the way) and ask you to promote the 10th anniversary performance on television and you let the word slip out... so what! I'd rather listen to Jane Fonda talking about vaginas than Ann Coulter talking about anything!

4. When I go to a buffet and I see someone pile tons of food on their plate all at the same time. Chicken on top of lasagna on top of roast beef on top of mac & cheese on top of mashed potatoes on top of green beans, and on and on and on. Don't they know they don't have to take all of their food all at once, but they can just put three or four things on their plate and go back for more?

5. Have you seen that show, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmerman on the Travel Channel? I've seen about 15 minutes of one episode and I'm left with only one question. Why?

Happy Valentine's Day

Wordless Wednesday

Photo by Scott Braucher, Amarillo.com

An Open Letter to Katie Couric and CBS News 60 Minutes Executive Producer, Jeff Fager

Dear Ms. Couric and Mr. Fager:

I stopped watching 60 minutes about 10 years ago, at the time when the show became less of an investigative news program and more entertainment programming.

Last night I watched the first half of your program because I saw a commercial that touted in-depth interviews with the Democratic presidential candidates, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. In this close race, I want to see as much of each candidate as I possibly can so I can be sure I am making the right decision when I cast my final vote in November. But, rather than coming away from your program feeling more informed and enlightened, I felt enraged!

Although Steve Kroft did not ask Senator Obama what I would consider particularly probing questions, he treated Senator Obama with all seriousness and respect and limited his questioning to presidential campaign issues except toward the end of the interview which quickly touched on how Senator Obama combats fatigue.

However, Ms. Couric, your interview with Senator Hillary Clinton was, in a word, abominable. Unfortunately, that is not the only word that describes the questioning directed to Senator Clinton. More descriptive words are: demeaning, disrespectful, appalling, snide, condescending, ridiculous and unbelievably sexist.

You only asked one question about the war in Iraq and the rest were inane, insulting inquiries: The questions about her father; "What do you see yourself doing if this doesn't work out?"; and "Do you like Senator Obama?" On three occasions and in three different ways, you asked Senator Clinton if she feared losing. You asked her if she takes vitamins and drinks lots of coffee. Ms. Couric : “if it doesn’t work out?”??? This isn’t high school and you are not talking about a high school romance!

You insinuated that Senator Clinton is using her husband's campaigning ideas by saying "...she borrowed a page from her husband’s campaign playbook, stopping and shaking as many hands on the rope line as she could." Ms. Couric, where have you been? That is what politicians DO! They go out to meet the voters, shake hands and answer questions. With your logic, it could be said that Senator Obama has also borrowed a page from Bill Clinton's playbook. And, of course, that would be just as ridiculous.

Finally, the most disrespectful, demeaning question of the entire 13 minutes was "Someone told me your nickname in school was Miss Frigidaire. Is that true?"

Ms. Couric, someone obviously needs to remind you that Senator Clinton is a leading contender for, and may very well win, the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. Further, she may be the first woman President in our history. Your questioning was sophomoric and irrelevant and only serves as evidence that you are unable to conduct a serious, meaningful interview with candidates or political figures of Senator Clinton's stature.

I would suggest that, in the future, you limit your interviews to those who would be willing to join you mud wrestling.

Oh, and Mr. Fager, I can assure you that, in the future, I will return to ignoring 60 minutes.

Some Things Friday for February 8, 2008

We've had some warmer days this week ~ a couple in the 70's. But, it is back to being cold, which means lows in the high 20's and highs in the low 50's. I know. All of you on the west coast are thinking Brrrr, I'm glad I'm not there and those of you in east are thinking Stop whining, weenie. I'm not about to stop whining. It's what I live for. I have a sister-in-law who told me once, "You don't suffer well." She was so right.

Some Things I Love:

1. I cannot remember how I found this website, but Mike and Chris will totally understand why I love this photo.



2. This Apple commercial.



3. I've been contemplating getting (and, I'll admit - looking for) another dog and then I came across this photo.



He looks just like our dog, Gizmo, that died in 1992. I'm leaning....

4. A company is now marketing a new lip gloss that helps you lose weight. The lip gloss is called Fuze Slenderize Guilt Free...



With my luck, I'd wind up with skinny lips and still have a fat ass!

5. A miracle. This 11 month old baby was found alive face down in the mud in the rubble 300 feet from where his home was destroyed by a tornado...





Some Things I Hate:

1. Tornadoes. My heart goes out to all the people here in Arkansas and the other states who have dealt with the devastation brought by all the tornadoes this week.

2. Here it comes, folks, whether you like it or not; whether you believe it or not. We are headed for another recession. Remember in the late 80's when we 15% interest on home mortgages and 20% for car loans? Those were the good old Reagan years!

3. David Shuster of MSNBC (part of the mainstream media that I love ) provided us with an Imus moment, when he characterized Chelsea Clinton as being hustled by her mother's campaign. Speaking with Democratic pundit, Bill Press, he said, "Bill, there's just something a little bit unseemly to me that Chelsea's out there calling up celebrities, saying support my mom, and she's apparently also calling these super delegates. [snip] ...doesn't it seem like Chelsea's sort of being pimped out in some weird sort of way?" Disgusting and blatant sexism and misogyny. Chelsea Clinton is a successful 28-year old woman who has made a choice to campaign for her mother to be the first woman president of the United States. She is not turning tricks for her. What a complete Neanderthal.

4. Is this something I hate? Or is this something I just don't get? A little of both. A mother wanting to teach her child a lesson, had him stand out on the street holding up this sign because he was acting up in class.



Don't misunderstand, I think this mother loves her child and wants very much to raise him to be a good man. And, I am not opposed to taking a child back to the classroom to apologize to the teacher and the class. But this? Humiliation breeds hatred. In my opinion.

5. It appears that the obsession with skinny that has plagued our women and young girls has finally rubbed off on our men and boys, as well. Meet the new male runway silhouette...



Sorry, but I'd rather have a guy with man-boobs.


Some Things I Just Don't Get:

1. Did you hear? The Spice Girls have canceled the rest of their world tour! Has it been 15 minutes already?? My, how time flies...

2. Amy Winehouse, the singer who was to perform at the Grammys, was denied a visa to the United States because of her past drug use, which of course makes her a threat to our national security. Yeah, let's see, Amy Winehouse vs. Osama Bin Ladin, Amy ~ Osama. Rehab resident ~ Terrorist who killed thousands of Americans. Sure, same thing.

3. According to an article in Newsweek, there are five painful places to get a tattoo. The rib cage ~ my son, Chris, would concur with that one; the top of the foot or ankle ~ I have one that starts at the ankle ~ ouch!; behind the ear ~ no thank you; mons pubis ~ Two words: Like Hell!; and the eyeball ~ Sure thing. I think I'll just stick a hot poker in my eye!

4. A traffic judge has apologized to Edward Stanley Harris, who has been hounded for 17 years by officials for his twin brother, Edwin Shelby Harris', unpaid tickets to the tune of $1,800. It took them 17 years to resolve the confusion! Our justice system at its best!

5. According to an article in the Knox County (Maine) Times, Camden-Rockport Middle School eighth grade boys will now serve detention for "intentionally farting." Quoting the Fire Cracker school newsletter, "Strange, but true, thanks to a bunch of 8th grade boys, intentional farting has been banned from CRMS," the newsletter said. "It started out as a funny joke and eventually turned into a game. This is the first rule at CRMS that prevents the use of natural bodily functions. The penalty for intentional farting is a detention, so keep it to yourself!" I laughed so hard when I read this article, I unintentionally farted!

Wordless Wednesday

Photo by Julie Jacobson / AP

You Are My Sunshine...

I don't usually post items in two places, but I am making an exception to this.

This morning while perusing the Democratic Underground website, I came across a forum post that ripped me right out of my depression. This is British humor at it's best.

Goodbye to All That

I did so want Al Gore to run for President this year. I wrote letters, sent my two pennies during the "2¢" campaign, wrote more letters, to no avail. So far he has not given one indication that he would enter the race.

So, I chose John Edwards. I sent letters, questions and money. He dropped out. Now it is down to two candidates. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

Today, I came across an article posted by Hilary Rosen on the Huffington Post. I love writers. I love politics. I love change. When all three of those things meld, it's a wonderful thing. Ms. Rosen posted an article written by Robin Morgan. It made me cry, but then I'm a weeper so take that for what it is worth. I would like to share it with you.

GOODBYE TO ALL THAT (#2)
by Robin Morgan


"Goodbye To All That" was my (in)famous 1970 essay breaking free from a politics of accommodation especially affecting women (for an online version, see the Fair Use blog).

During my decades in civil-rights, anti-war, and contemporary women's movements, I've avoided writing another specific "Goodbye . . .". But not since the suffrage struggle have two communities--the joint conscience-keepers of this country--been so set in competition, as the contest between Hillary Rodham Clinton (HRC) and Barack Obama (BO) unfurls. So.

Goodbye to the double standard . . .

--Hillary is too ballsy but too womanly, a Snow Maiden who's emotional, and so much a politician as to be unfit for politics.

--She's "ambitious" but he shows "fire in the belly." (Ever had labor pains? )

--When a sexist idiot screamed "Iron my shirt!" at HRC, it was considered amusing; if a racist idiot shouted "Shine my shoes!" at BO, it would've inspired hours of airtime and pages of newsprint analyzing our national dishonor.

--Young political Kennedys--Kathleen, Kerry, and Bobby Jr.--all endorsed Hillary. Sen. Ted, age 76, endorsed Obama. If the situation were reversed, pundits would snort "See? Ted and establishment types back her, but the forward-looking generation backs him." (Personally, I'm unimpressed with Caroline's longing for the Return of the Fathers. Unlike the rest of the world, Americans have short memories. Me, I still recall Marilyn Monroe's suicide, and a dead girl named Mary Jo Kopechne in Chappaquiddick.)

Goodbye to the toxic viciousness . . .

Carl Bernstein's disgust at Hillary's "thick ankles." Nixon-trickster Roger Stone's new Hillary-hating 527 group, "Citizens United Not Timid" (check the capital letters). John McCain answering "How do we beat the bitch?" with "Excellent question!" Would he have dared reply similarly to "How do we beat the black bastard?" For shame.

Goodbye to the HRC nutcracker with metal spikes between splayed thighs. If it was a tap-dancing blackface doll, we would be righteously outraged--and they would not be selling it in airports. Shame.

Goodbye to the most intimately violent T-shirts in election history, including one with the murderous slogan "If Only Hillary had married O.J. Instead!" Shame.

Goodbye to Comedy Central's "Southpark" featuring a storyline in which terrorists secrete a bomb in HRC's vagina. I refuse to wrench my brain down into the gutter far enough to find a race-based comparison. For shame.

Goodbye to the sick, malicious idea that this is funny. This is not "Clinton hating," not "Hillary hating." This is sociopathic woman-hating. If it were about Jews, we would recognize it instantly as anti-Semitic propaganda; if about race, as KKK poison. Hell, PETA would go ballistic if such vomitous spew were directed at animals. Where is our sense of outrage--as citizens, voters, Americans?

Goodbye to the news-coverage target-practice . . .

The women’s movement and Media Matters wrung an apology from MSNBC’s Chris Matthews for relentless misogynistic comments (www.womensmediacenter.com). But what about NBC’s Tim Russert’s continual sexist asides and his all-white-male panels pontificating on race and gender? Or CNN’s Tony Harris chuckling at “the chromosome thing” while interviewing a woman from The White House Project? And that’s not even mentioning Fox News.

Goodbye to pretending the black community is entirely male and all women are white . . .

Surprise! Women exist in all opinions, pigmentations, ethnicities, abilities, sexual preferences, and ages--not only African American and European American but Latina and Native American, Asian American and Pacific Islanders, Arab American and--hey, every group, because a group wouldn't be alive if we hadn't given birth to it. A few non-racist countries may exist--but sexism is everywhere. No matter how many ways a woman breaks free from other oppressions, she remains a female human being in a world still so patriarchal that it's the "norm."

So why should all women not be as justly proud of our womanhood and the centuries, even millennia, of struggle that got us this far, as black Americans, women and men, are justly proud of their struggles?

Goodbye to a campaign where he has to pass as white (which whites--especially wealthy ones--adore), while she has to pass as male (which both men and women demanded of her, and then found unforgivable). If she were black or he were female we wouldn't be having such problems, and I for one would be in heaven. But at present such a candidate wouldn't stand a chance--even if she shared Condi Rice's Bush-defending politics.

I was celebrating the pivotal power at last focused on African American women deciding on which of two candidates to bestow their vote--until a number of Hillary-supporting black feminists told me they're being called "race traitors."

So goodbye to conversations about this nation's deepest scar--slavery--which fail to acknowledge that labor- and sexual-slavery exist today in the US and elsewhere on this planet, and the majority of those enslaved are women.

Women have endured sex/race/ethnic/religious hatred, rape and battery, invasion of spirit and flesh, forced pregnancy; being the majority of the poor, the illiterate, the disabled, of refugees, caregivers, the HIV/AIDS afflicted, the powerless. We have survived invisibility, ridicule, religious fundamentalisms, polygamy, teargas, forced feedings, jails, asylums, sati, purdah, female genital mutilation, witch burnings, stonings, and attempted gynocides. We have tried reason, persuasion, reassurances, and being extra-qualified, only to learn it never was about qualifications after all. We know that at this historical moment women experience the world differently from men--though not all the same as one another--and can govern differently, from Elizabeth Tudor to Michele Bachelet and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

We remember when Shirley Chisholm and Patricia Schroeder ran for this high office and barely got past the gate--they showed too much passion, raised too little cash, were joke fodder. Goodbye to all that. (And goodbye to some feminists so famished for a female president they were even willing to abandon women's rights in backing Elizabeth Dole.)

Goodbye, goodbye to . . .

--blaming anything Bill Clinton does on Hillary (even including his womanizing like the Kennedy guys--though unlike them, he got reported on). Let's get real. If he hadn't campaigned strongly for her everyone would cluck over what that meant. Enough of Bill and Teddy Kennedy locking their alpha male horns while Hillary pays for it.

--an era when parts of the populace feel so disaffected by politics that a comparative lack of knowledge, experience, and skill is actually seen as attractive, when celebrity-culture mania now infects our elections so that it's "cooler" to glow with marquee charisma than to understand the vast global complexities of power on a nuclear, wounded planet.

--the notion that it's fun to elect a handsome, cocky president who feels he can learn on the job, goodbye to George W. Bush and the destruction brought by his inexperience, ignorance, and arrogance.

Goodbye to the accusation that HRC acts "entitled" when she's worked intensely at everything she's done--including being a nose-to-the-grindstone, first-rate senator from my state.

Goodbye to her being exploited as a Rorschach test by women who reduce her to a blank screen on which they project their own fears, failures, fantasies.

Goodbye to the phrase "polarizing figure" to describe someone who embodies the transitions women have made in the last century and are poised to make in this one. It was the women's movement that quipped, "We are becoming the men we wanted to marry." She heard us, and she has.

Goodbye to some women letting history pass by while wringing their hands, because Hillary isn't as "likeable" as they've been warned they must be, or because she didn't leave him, couldn't "control" him, kept her family together and raised a smart, sane daughter. (Think of the blame if Chelsea had ever acted in the alcoholic, neurotic manner of the Bush twins!) Goodbye to some women pouting because she didn't bake cookies or she did, sniping because she learned the rules and then bent or broke them. Grow the hell up. She is not running for Ms.-perfect-pure-queen-icon of the feminist movement. She is running to be President of the United States.

Goodbye to the shocking American ignorance of our own and other countries' history. Margaret Thatcher and Golda Meir rose through party ranks and war, positioning themselves as proto-male leaders. Almost all other female heads of government so far have been related to men of power--granddaughters, daughters, sisters, wives, widows: Gandhi, Bandaranike, Bhutto, Aquino, Chamorro, Wazed, Macapagal-Arroyo, Johnson Sirleaf, Bachelet, Kirchner, and more. Even in our "land of opportunity," it's mostly the first pathway "in" permitted to women: Reps. Doris Matsui and Mary Bono and Sala Burton; Sen. Jean Carnahan . . . far too many to list here.

Goodbye to a misrepresented generational divide . . .

Goodbye to the so-called spontaneous "Obama Girl" flaunting her bikini-clad ass online--then confessing Oh yeah it wasn't her idea after all, some guys got her to do it and dictated the clothes, which she said "made me feel like a dork."

Goodbye to some young women eager to win male approval by showing they're not feminists (at least not the kind who actually threaten the status quo), who can't identify with a woman candidate because she is unafraid of eeueweeeu yucky power, who fear their boyfriends might look at them funny if they say something good about her. Goodbye to women of any age again feeling unworthy, sulking "what if she's not electable?" or "maybe it's post-feminism and whoooosh we're already free." Let a statement by the magnificent Harriet Tubman stand as reply. When asked how she managed to save hundreds of enslaved African Americans via the Underground Railroad during the Civil War, she replied bitterly, "I could have saved thousands--if only I'd been able to convince them they were slaves."

I'd rather say a joyful Hello to all the glorious young women who do identify with Hillary, and all the brave, smart men--of all ethnicities and any age--who get that it's in their self-interest, too. She's better qualified. (D'uh.) She's a high-profile candidate with an enormous grasp of foreign- and domestic-policy nuance, dedication to detail, ability to absorb staggering insult and personal pain while retaining dignity, resolve, even humor, and keep on keeping on. (Also, yes, dammit, let's hear it for her connections and funding and party-building background, too. Obama was awfully glad about those when she raised dough and campaigned for him to get to the Senate in the first place.)

I'd rather look forward to what a good president he might make in eight years, when his vision and spirit are seasoned by practical know-how--and he'll be all of 54. Meanwhile, goodbye to turning him into a shining knight when actually he's an astute, smooth pol with speechwriters who've worked with the Kennedys' own speechwriter-courtier Ted Sorenson. If it's only about ringing rhetoric, let speechwriters run. But isn't it about getting the policies we want enacted?

And goodbye to the ageism . . .

How dare anyone unilaterally decide when to turn the page on history, papering over real inequities and suffering constituencies in the promise of a feel-good campaign? How dare anyone claim to unify while dividing, or think that to rouse US youth from torpor it's useful to triage the single largest demographic in this country's history: the boomer generation--the majority of which is female?

Older woman are the one group that doesn't grow more conservative with age--and we are the generation of radicals who said "Well-behaved women seldom make history." Goodbye to going gently into any goodnight any man prescribes for us. We are the women who changed the reality of the United States. And though we never went away, brace yourselves: we're back!

We are the women who brought this country equal credit, better pay, affirmative action, the concept of a family-focused workplace; the women who established rape-crisis centers and battery shelters, marital-rape and date-rape laws; the women who defended lesbian custody rights, who fought for prison reform, founded the peace and environmental movements; who insisted that medical research include female anatomy, who inspired men to become more nurturing parents, who created women's studies and Title IX so we all could cheer the WNBA stars and Mia Hamm. We are the women who reclaimed sexuality from violent pornography, who put child care on the national agenda, who transformed demographics, artistic expression, language itself. We are the women who forged a worldwide movement. We are the proud successors of women who, though it took more than 50 years, won us the vote.

We are the women who now comprise the majority of US voters.

Hillary said she found her own voice in New Hampshire. There's not a woman alive who, if she's honest, doesn't recognize what she means. Then HRC got drowned out by campaign experts, Bill, and media's obsession with All Things Bill.

So listen to her voice:

"For too long, the history of women has been a history of silence. Even today, there are those who are trying to silence our words.

"It is a violation of human rights when babies are denied food, or drowned, or suffocated, or their spines broken, simply because they are born girls. It is a violation of human rights when woman and girls are sold into the slavery of prostitution. It is a violation of human rights when women are doused with gasoline, set on fire and burned to death because their marriage dowries are deemed too small. It is a violation of human rights when individual women are raped in their own communities and when thousands of women are subjected to rape as a tactic or prize of war. It is a violation of human rights when a leading cause of death worldwide along women ages 14 to 44 is the violence they are subjected to in their own homes. It is a violation of human rights when women are denied the right to plan their own families, and that includes being forced to have abortions or being sterilized against their will.

"Women's rights are human rights. Among those rights are the right to speak freely--and the right to be heard."

That was Hillary Rodham Clinton defying the US State Department and the Chinese Government at the 1995 UN World Conference on Women in Beijing (the full, stunning speech: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/hillaryclintonbeijingspeech.htm).

And this voice, age 22, in "Commencement Remarks of Hillary D. Rodham, President of Wellesley College Government Association, Class of 1969" (full speech: http://www.wellesley.edu/PublicAffairs/Commencement/1969/053169hillary.html)

"We are, all of us, exploring a world none of us understands. . . . searching for a more immediate, ecstatic, and penetrating mode of living. . . . [for the] integrity, the courage to be whole, living in relation to one another in the full poetry of existence. The struggle for an integrated life existing in an atmosphere of communal trust and respect is one with desperately important political and social consequences. . . . Fear is always with us, but we just don't have time for it."
She ended with the commitment "to practice, with all the skill of our being: the art of making possible."

And for decades, she's been learning how.

So goodbye to Hillary's second-guessing herself. The real question is deeper than her re-finding her voice. Can we women find ours? Can we do this for ourselves? "Our President, Ourselves!"

Time is short and the contest tightening. We need to rise in furious energy--as we did when courageous Anita Hill was so vilely treated in the US Senate, as we did when desperate Rosie Jiminez was butchered by an illegal abortion, as we did and do for women globally who are condemned for trying to break through. We need to win, this time. Goodbye to supporting HRC tepidly, with ambivalent caveats and apologetic smiles. Time to volunteer, make phone calls, send emails, donate money, argue, rally, march, shout, vote.

Me? I support Hillary Rodham because she's the best qualified of all candidates running in both parties. I support her because her progressive politics are as strong as her proven ability to withstand what will be a massive right-wing assault in the general election. I support her because she's refreshingly thoughtful, and I'm bloodied from eight years of a jolly "uniter" with ejaculatory politics. I needn't agree with her on every point. I agree with the 97 percent of her positions that are identical with Obama's--and the few where hers are both more practical and to the left of his (like health care). I support her because she's already smashed the first-lady stereotype and made history as a fine senator, and because I believe she will continue to make history not only as the first US woman president, but as a great US president.

As for the "woman thing"?

Me, I'm voting for Hillary not because she's a woman--but because I am.

RM
February 2, 2008
New York City

My Love Affair with Maya Angelou

I can't remember when I first knew of her. It was long before the 1993 Clinton Inaugural Poem, "The Rock Cries Out to Us Today"; long before the Million Man March; long before her many appearances on Oprah.

I think I first heard her read one of her poems on Phil Donahue. From that moment on, I combed libraries, book stores and, finally, the internet to read everything she has ever written.

Nothing speaks to my soul like this poem. It expresses my deepest love for my husband and my gratitude for what he has given me. It is my favorite.

In & Out of Time
by Maya Angelou

The sun has come.
The mist has gone.
We see in the distance...
our long way home.
I was always yours to have.
You were always mine.
We have loved each other in and out of time.
When the first stone looked up at the blazing sun
and the first tree struggled up from the forest floor
I had always loved you more.
You freed your braids...
gave your hair to the breeze.
It hummed like a hive of honey bees.
I reached in the mass for the sweet honey comb there....
Mmmm...God how I love your hair.
You saw me bludgeoned by circumstance.
Lost, injured, hurt by chance.
I screamed to the heavens....loudly screamed....
Trying to change my nightmares to dreams...
The sun has come.
The mist has gone.
We see in the distance our long way home.
I was always yours to have.
You were always mine.
We have loved each other in and out
in and out
in and out
of time.

Some Things Friday for February 1, 2008

It has been a wacky and busy week. It takes too much time to get all the payroll tax forms out ~ W-2's, W-3's, 1099's, 941's, 940, AR941's, reconciliations, sales tax, blah, blah, blah. And, the weather. Tuesday was 75 degrees. Wednesday was 34. Thursday was a chance of snow. Friday, 50's. Today, high 50's.

So, why did this get posted on Saturday morning and not Friday? No time until this morning, that's why. I'm sorry if this messes up your weekend. If it is any consolation, it has messed up mine, too. So, I might as well get started...

Some Things I Love:

1. The Man Song ~ Tom said he heard on the radio Friday morning and we did a search to find it just for you...

2. I am so happy that someone finally stepped out on a limb to help this poor girl: "Spears’ dad put in charge of her welfare"

3. Anonymous Call Blocking. Even though we are on the Do Not Call list, we still used to get those "unknown caller, unknown number" calls. Not any more. Ha Ha!

4. Dishes. I think I mentioned that I am a dish-a-holic. I don't know why, but I just love plates, bowls, serving dishes... you name it, I covet it. When we lived in Carlsbad, California, Plaza Camino Real was within walking distance and we spent a lot of time there, and walking into Macy's from inside the mall was dish nirvana because right inside the entrance was the seasonal dishware display. No Macy's here. That probably a good thing, but I've been known to pick up a few extra things now and then at other stores.

5. I love shopping for clothes for my granddaughters. I never thought it would happen. When I had children, I had boys. Don't get me wrong, I liked shopping for them, too, especially when they got older and knew what they liked to wear. So when they both got married and had their first children, they were boys, too. Then, six years ago, our first granddaughter was born. A year later, our second granddaughter and little more than 18 months later than that our third granddaughter was born. Every time I walk into a store, or shop on the internet, I look at little girls' clothes and can imagine each one of them in their outfits. I could easily be cash poor and little girl clothing wealthy!

Some Things I Hate:

1. Edwards dropped out. Crap! Without our votes, the field narrows down to two.

2. Violation of a trust. For instance, take Dr. Phil (you know him, don't you? He's Oprah's biotch). If you are a doctor ~ medical, psychiatric, or otherwise and licensed or not ~ you don't meet with a person as a patient or client, then go out and spread details about that meeting to the press. Phil, it doesn't elevate your stature or make you look important. It makes you look like an unethical, self-important asshat!

3. Bush's final budget slashes $178 Billion from health care ~ Medicare and Medicaid ~ cut from the people who have the least. And this man calls himself a born again Christian who accepts Jesus Christ as his own personal savior? A savior who said you treat me as you treat the least of you. He is a disgrace.

4. Local tv news or programming. I live in Arkansas, folks! It is NOT professionalism personified.

5. Tv commercials for prescription drugs. Why would I go to my doctor and ask for a specific drug? Shouldn't my doctor make that informed decision?

Some Things I Just Don't Get:

1. Star Jones' show is going off the air? Did she have a show?

2. Michael Jackson's kids are actually seen in public.


The question, "Who's your daddy?" comes to mind. They look more like their mommy and a mystery man to me.











3. Did you read that Pamela Anderson is going to perform a striptease show in Paris? Do you care? Me, either.

4. A shark at a Minnesota aquarium attacked a smaller shark. People were shocked. Hellooo! That's what sharks do... eat smaller fish, even if they are smaller sharks!

5. Super Bowl mania. I'm sorry, but I don't even know who's playing.