It was a thoughtless remark and I don't care what kind of spin the White House Press Secretary puts on it, there was no excuse for the president to say what he did on national television. Screw the fact that he hastily called the President of the Special Olympics Tim Shriver to apologize. He knew he needed to do some damage control as soon as possible and what better way than to call the head of the organization whose members/participants he'd just insulted. As the brother of a younger sister who is profoundly mentally and physically disabled and who has participated in many years worth of Special Olympics events while she was in the public school system, I am deeply offended by his remark. It's Christianly to forgive and for the most part, people have and have moved on. But I won't forget this monumental slip of the tongue and will continue to wonder what sort of man he is if this is the kind of vitriol that comes from him during unscripted moments.
Yeah, someone dropped the ball on this AIG bonus thing. Blame the pretender Treasury Secretary, Chris Dodd, the White House, Democrats on the Hill, whoever. Someone should have lost their job over that and from the looks of it, Chris Dodd hasn't come out unscathed. It was fun to watch the other side of the aisle squirm in their seats while they tried to figure out who amongst themselves to blame. They knew they couldn't blame their favorite target, George W Bush, or Congressional Republicans when it was the Democrats who ram-rodded the AIG-affected legislation through and got it enacted into law. It will be interesting to see what knives go in whose back first and how often. For all their talk about change and blah blah blah, it sure continues to look like business as usual in the Democratic Party. I will say, though, that I agree with Obama when he says we may want to step back a little from the most recent bill passed by the House where they voted to tax the AIG bonuses at 90%. We cannot use the federal tax code to go after a certain sect of people, no matter what the circumstances and it's doubtful the legislation would withstand a court challenge, which is what Obama alluded to in an interview recently. So, I back him on that. But only that.
Office politics is the worst. I try to stay above the fray and keep my nose clean, but sometimes I find myself right in the middle without even knowing it. And because I have a way with the written worn and don't mind saying exactly what I'm thinking (not always my best virtue), I tend to get roped in when the mud-slinging starts. As if I don't already have enough on my plate already.
I'm starting to think about birthday plans. There's a decent chance I'll be alone on my special day, so that'll suck, but it can't be helped. Even so, I'll try and do something special for myself on my day. Maybe hit the bookstore and blow a big wad of cash on magazines and books. Possibly hit Best Buy for some DVDs, too. That would be delicious! And to eat - either a greasy, heart-stopping Pepperoni Lover's Pizza from Pizza Hut or a big slab of red meat I can cook inside. I'm getting hungry already!! Good thing it's almost time for lunch. Today, I'm thinking...........
24 March 2009
17 March 2009
Title this
Been a while since I blogged last. I start one and then get sidetracked and when I find time to finish or continue, the news is old or more stuff has happened so I just delete it and say I'll write later. I'm a procrastintor that way.
White House Council on Women and Girls. Really?!? I'm floored. What on God's green earth is this council going to do other than create more paper and hold purely-for-show meetings with prominent women's groups around the country? If I was a woman, I'd be appalled. Just as I would have been back in the 70s when the Equal Rights Amendment was codified into law. As if there needed to be a formal amendment to the US Constitution stating that a woman is equal to a man. Women should have been aghast to learn that apparently they weren't before the ERA was put on the books. Doesn't the preamble to the Constitution say that all men are created equal? And when it says 'men,' it means mankind and not the male of the species - for anyone who might try to pull a fast one. This newly established council is a waste of time and anyone on the floor with Obama that day should have been ashamed and embarrassed that their tax dollars were now going to fund this ridiculous brain child of Michelle Obama. What about the WH Council on Men and Boys? When will it be established and announced? Of all the things that should command the president's attention these days, let's put more important stuff on his calendar and dispense with the ones that may not bear any fruit at all.
No meat on Fridays of Lent, my friends. I'm just saying. It's important to remember and follow these things. I'm not a perfect Catholic by any stretch of the imagination. I am confident that some of the things I do, say, and think the Catholic Church would not approve of, but I'm imperfect and so long as I realize that and at least try to be better, then it's not all for naught. One of the few times in my life I have been really frustrated at my mother was last February in Myrtle Beach. It was a Friday of Lent and she and I and my older brother were dining at the Bonefish Grill after she and I walked the 5K earlier that evening. As I was pondering the menu and lamenting my limitiations due to not being able to eat meat that day, she asked in a sort of huffy manner why it mattered. I curtly explained to her that it DID matter because it was important for me to follow the church's observations of the Lenten season. I'm not a theologian like my friend is, so I couldn't get in depth with my mother about specifics, but it irked me that in that moment she didn't seem to respect my faith enough to see that it was important to me to abstain from meat on that particular occasion. As it turns out, the grilled salmon in butter sauce I ended up having was simply OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!! And no, this isn't about my mother. It's about observing the Lenten practices of the Catholic faith. It's 7 Fridays out of 52; surely we can go without meat for 7 days out of the entire year. Jesus Christ hung on a cross for us. Going without meat on these days of Lent is the least we can do for Him. So let's do it.
Evelyn is starting to show some signs of settling into her new home. We've had her a month now and she's calmed down a good bit. Kortney took over some of her training and that seems to have helped some with the anxiety and restlessness. She whines a lot less now, which is good. Although last night she was in rare form like I've not seen since we brought her home. Maybe it was because it was raining and she couldn't be outside as much as she'd like. She pissed on the floor in the desk room again so I'm going to have to get some pee pads and stuff to spray around the house to discourage her from making on the floor. She's also turning out to be a very active sleeper. We may need to renegotiate our sleeping arrangement before too long. I'm thinking to buy another bed for her and put it on the floor right by mine and hope she sleeps there. How much you wanna bet I will have bought a second bed for nothing. LOL
Good times. As my sister would say. Well, that's about it for now. I will try to remember to blog again sooner. Thank you, Kortney, for putting up with my crap and all my oddities. I love you.
PS: I survived my bout of pink eye. Still on the steriods and antibiotics, but I'll live.
White House Council on Women and Girls. Really?!? I'm floored. What on God's green earth is this council going to do other than create more paper and hold purely-for-show meetings with prominent women's groups around the country? If I was a woman, I'd be appalled. Just as I would have been back in the 70s when the Equal Rights Amendment was codified into law. As if there needed to be a formal amendment to the US Constitution stating that a woman is equal to a man. Women should have been aghast to learn that apparently they weren't before the ERA was put on the books. Doesn't the preamble to the Constitution say that all men are created equal? And when it says 'men,' it means mankind and not the male of the species - for anyone who might try to pull a fast one. This newly established council is a waste of time and anyone on the floor with Obama that day should have been ashamed and embarrassed that their tax dollars were now going to fund this ridiculous brain child of Michelle Obama. What about the WH Council on Men and Boys? When will it be established and announced? Of all the things that should command the president's attention these days, let's put more important stuff on his calendar and dispense with the ones that may not bear any fruit at all.
No meat on Fridays of Lent, my friends. I'm just saying. It's important to remember and follow these things. I'm not a perfect Catholic by any stretch of the imagination. I am confident that some of the things I do, say, and think the Catholic Church would not approve of, but I'm imperfect and so long as I realize that and at least try to be better, then it's not all for naught. One of the few times in my life I have been really frustrated at my mother was last February in Myrtle Beach. It was a Friday of Lent and she and I and my older brother were dining at the Bonefish Grill after she and I walked the 5K earlier that evening. As I was pondering the menu and lamenting my limitiations due to not being able to eat meat that day, she asked in a sort of huffy manner why it mattered. I curtly explained to her that it DID matter because it was important for me to follow the church's observations of the Lenten season. I'm not a theologian like my friend is, so I couldn't get in depth with my mother about specifics, but it irked me that in that moment she didn't seem to respect my faith enough to see that it was important to me to abstain from meat on that particular occasion. As it turns out, the grilled salmon in butter sauce I ended up having was simply OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!! And no, this isn't about my mother. It's about observing the Lenten practices of the Catholic faith. It's 7 Fridays out of 52; surely we can go without meat for 7 days out of the entire year. Jesus Christ hung on a cross for us. Going without meat on these days of Lent is the least we can do for Him. So let's do it.
Evelyn is starting to show some signs of settling into her new home. We've had her a month now and she's calmed down a good bit. Kortney took over some of her training and that seems to have helped some with the anxiety and restlessness. She whines a lot less now, which is good. Although last night she was in rare form like I've not seen since we brought her home. Maybe it was because it was raining and she couldn't be outside as much as she'd like. She pissed on the floor in the desk room again so I'm going to have to get some pee pads and stuff to spray around the house to discourage her from making on the floor. She's also turning out to be a very active sleeper. We may need to renegotiate our sleeping arrangement before too long. I'm thinking to buy another bed for her and put it on the floor right by mine and hope she sleeps there. How much you wanna bet I will have bought a second bed for nothing. LOL
Good times. As my sister would say. Well, that's about it for now. I will try to remember to blog again sooner. Thank you, Kortney, for putting up with my crap and all my oddities. I love you.
PS: I survived my bout of pink eye. Still on the steriods and antibiotics, but I'll live.
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