Tan lines

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...........