10/27/2006

Be Careful What You Wish For

Was your political post an endorsement for the 20th District challenger or do you actually have a point to make about local media election coverage? - Scott in Westmoreland

Sorry, Scott. I've been busy & slacking on my posts. I'll try not to bog this down in too many details but here goes:


The October 17 PG editorial valiantly refuses to endorse any candidate. Well, thanks for nothing. Challengers in the 27th & 24th districts are apparently not pro-abortion & anti-smoking enough for the paper's editorial board.

In the 27th, the challenger (Ogden) would suport a ban on Roe v. Wade & feels that business owners are competent to run smoking or nonsmoking establishments. He supports reducing the size of the legislature, term-limits & would like to promote fiscal accountability (i.e., state funds shouldn't have to keep bailing out public agencies such as the City of Pittsburgh & the Port Authority.)

The incumbent (Petrone) has given us 12 useless terms & has no accomplishments to speak of. He voted for & took the pay raise, tried to weasel out of repayment by claiming he "donated" the money to families of servicement killed in Iraq & now claims to be paying it back in $100 monthly installments. If I stole thousands from my employers I'd go to jail, how about you?


Petrone claims to be pro-choice but is listed as an abortion foe by various PACS. He says city leaders are fiscally responsible & wants state funding to relieve Pittsburgh of various financial burdens -- including the generous pensions enjoyed by the generations of nepotism-spawned yokels on the city payroll.

In Petrone's time in office, much of his district has seriously declined. What used to be thriving neighborhoods in the West End of the city have degenerated into bastions of section 8 housing, businesses are closing their doors & crime is skyrocketing. Gangs are fighting in the streets & people who have lived in these areas for 40 years or more are desperate to leave & having difficulty selling their homes. No thanks to the local rep, the area is going to get their police station back but a lot of work still needs to be done to revitalize these communities.

The choice here is clear: Petrone has had 12 terms to act in the best interests of the citizens & has done nothing to make this a more prosperous or better state. He is part of the problem in Harrisburg & serves only himself, not the constituents. While Ogden may not be an ideal candidate, is there ever such a thing?

We don't need career politicians in Harrisburg. They have proven time & again that they are more concerned about their own benefits & salaries than any of the issues of taxpayer concern.

Give the challenger a chance. If he doesn't satisfy, we can replace him next election. Why vote to keep the proven failure?



In the same editorial, the incumbent in the 24th (Preston) is called "uninspiring" & it's noted that he voted for the pay raise, illegally took the money & isn't repaying it.

Yet the editorial board still can't find it within themselves to endorse his opponent? Who's running against him, Osama bin Ladin? What could possibly be so bad about the challenger?

The challenger (Koger) is honest about how much one rep can accomplish. He speaks frankly about issues such as reducing the size of legislature & admits that it isn't likely to happen anytime soon. That's probably true. Unless we make a concerted effort to send a lot of inspired challengers to Harrisburg, it will never happen.

Apparently being realistic & honest will work against you in PG country. Rather than fault the guy for telling the truth, they should be shouting from the headlines that this is the man for the job & he needs likeminded colleagues from other districts to get results.

They're critical of the fact that Koger is a lifelong Independent running as a Democrat. Party affiliation is pettiness at this point, because both major parties are are lazy & self-serving once they get to the state capitol. These ae facts evidenced by our crumbling infrastructure & skyrocketing state budget.

Of course, it doesn't help that while Koger supports the indoor smoking ban, he feels it's not likely go into effect. And of course Preston wants to keep abortion legal.

Preston is another 12-term disapointment, representing some of the most impoverished & troubled neighborhoods in Western PA. His district is in continual decline & he has not had any notable accomplishments for his constituents in 12 terms. Is any challenger going to do a worse job for this district? Seems unlikely. Give the newcomer a chance to produce.

10/19/2006

PA Politics (Sigh)

It's election time again, so brace yourself for disappointment. In this area, we're continually subjected to the same useless, self-important jerks winning re-election with little (if any) effort.

Everyone should become a politician in this state. You've got nearly unconditional job security. No matter how poor your performance, you'll be grossly overcompensated & always get re-elected here.

Our new state motto should be "Pennsylvania: Bastion of Low Expectations".

After the last election, I didn't think I could ever be more disapointed in politics. There was so much to break my spirit last November but a here are standouts:

A man who's never practiced law or held any job in the private sector was elected as a judge. He was the only candidate not endorsed by the local bar association.

And the chorus of praise for the Sheriff's office absolutely floored me.

There was more integrity in the Wild West than there is in the Allegheny County Sheriff's office. A lawless criminal element masquerading as law enforcement, it makes the murderous gunslingers of prospecting days seem like mischevious neighborhood boys in comparison.

After that, what could possibly be worse?

Right now, it's our local media. Hard to believe, especially if you've witnessed the juvenile debate tactics of our US Senate hopefuls, but true.

Many voters rely on the local papers to inform & guide their ballot choices. Passionate reporting of the facts might even motivate some listless folk to cast a ballot they would not have otherwise cast. Sadly, the wishy-washy drivel in our local papers is nearly identical to the noncommittal lip service we're receiving from our politicians.

For example, the Post-Gazette has chosen to narrow it's scope of issues to a frighteningly myopic two. Every candidate is rated based on their views of abortion & smoking.

This isn't to say that the hot potato of property tax relief is being ignored, it's just that the PG will endorse any candidate no matter how futile their ideas, as long as the person is pro-choice without restrictions & anti-smoking without exception.

Regardless of your stance on either issue, any informed voter would concede that neither issue is the most important in Pennsylvania right now. Nor is either issue even close to being important enough to decide an election.

It's very irresponsible to endorse incumbents who have proven to be useless for the public's interests, term after term. I'm hard pressed to provide a worse alternative than most incumbents. Even the ones that didn't take the pay raise did nothing to warn taxpayers of the sneaky pending legislation.

None of the incumbents are making a concerted effort to decrease the cost of our legislature which exceeds $430 million dollars per year. Imagine the roadwork, bus rides & property tax relief that could be financed instead.

There's been a recent spate of articles about our crumbling transportation infrastructure (mass budget deficits, bridge safety, etc.) but the PG hasn't felt the need to tell us what (if anything) incumbents have done or propose to do to fix it.

On the same day, they ran an article about proposed transportation taxes while specifically shunning a promising candidate (Dilemma in the 20th). The editorial admits that the incumbent (Walko) is poor a choice but criticizes the challenger (Stalter) for having a job in the private sector (he'd be "a part-time legislator"). A lot of people think that's great but a lot of sheep are going to be against it, thanks to this editorial.

I'd love to see someone in office that wasn't there to line their pockets with my tax dollars (has a job), but that's just me. Part-time legislators & term limits are very popular but they're referred to like four-letter words in this piece.

Progressive goals such as tax reduction & accountability in our state legislature are condescendingly dismissed: "Mr. Stalter's agenda is from the standard conservative playbook."

They go on to mention that Stalter is anti-abortion & against the Allegheny County smoking ban. The piece closes by asking if voters should "overlook the incumbents flaw on the pay raise or embrace the obvious flaws of the challengers." (emphasis mine).

To say that the incumbent has just one flaw to overlook is an insult to readers' intelligence. To dismiss progressive ideals & new options when our state is in such dire straits is irrepsonsible at best.

The PG is no friend to the voter this election & is not an objective source of guidance. I don't even know what's more disgusting, the close-mindedness or the assumption that readers are so dumb & pliable that they don't even have to cloak their bias & agenda.

10/15/2006

In the Eye of the Beholder

My girlfriend is very pushy and mean. What should I do? - Anonymous

This one is tricky because I don't have much to go on.

The specifics of this situation could run the gamut from your girlfriend is a selfish, emasculating shrew to your girlfriend is perfectly reasonable & you are the problem. I don't know.

On the severe end of the spectrum, you're girlfriend is pushy & demanding. She wants you to work 3 jobs so that you can financially support her while managing to shower her with lavish treats such as fancy jewels & a summer home in the Keys.

On the other hand, maybe your girlfriend is 8 months pregnant with your child & simply wants you to put down the Xbox controller & bong long enough to find a job, since she's going to have to take a little time off.

I suspect your situation falls somewhere in the very large & potentially complex area between these two scenarios. But without knowing more about the situation, I can only offer some very general advice.

How is she pressuring you? Depending on what she's being pushy about, she may be selfish, controlling or she may just think she's doing you a favor by helping to motivate you. Speak with her about your feelings & find out why she's "pushy".

Maybe she doesn't realize that she's being pushy & by bringing it to her attention she'll have an opportunity to change her behavior for the better.

And "mean" is a pretty subjective term. When she says or does something hurtful to you, point it out to her & ask her why she felt the need to do or say that. Ask her what she hoped to accomplish by doing so.

Again, she may not realize that her actions are hurtful to you & bringing this problem to her attention is the first step in solving it. Some people with poor social skills or a lack of experience aren't even aware of their own unacceptable behavior.

The only way to try to fix the problem is by discussing it with her. If she's unaware, she'll appreciate your honesty & will probably make an effort to be a better person.

If she's dismissive of your concerns or in denial about her behavior, it may be best for you to break off this relationship & find someone who will respect you.

Good luck with your lady.

10/14/2006

Lawsuit With a Side of Cojones, Biggie-Sized!

Everyone knows that America's supposed to be the land of opportunity. The American Dream is the fabled notion of success available to anyone willing to earn it. Generations of people have come here from all over the world to fulfill that promise.

But some people are taking it just a bit too far. Lately we've seen the spotlight on illegal immigration from Mexico. The Mexican government feels that our silly "laws" should only apply to potential citizens from countries that are not Mexico.

(If I were president of Mexico, I'd worry more about fixing my country's problems so that people wouldn't be so desperate to flee, rather than putting such effort into trying to get another nation to accept them unconditionally. But that's just me.)


The US government, millions of US citizens & those attempting to gain citizenship through proper channels seem to disagree.

After all, people from all over the world & every walk of life are trying to become US citizens. Should we deny the refugees, political prisoners & dissidents, the sick, the poor & professionals of all kinds just so some folks from Mexico can come here to flip burgers? That's right, they believe that jobs at Wendy's entitle them to subvert our laws.

Seems kinda unfair to me. I guess the ever-popular undeserved sense of entitlement so rampant in America is big in Mexico as well.


These particular illegals are determined to show us that they're as American as apple pie by engaging in some favorite American pastimes such as:

1. refusing to take responsibility for their own actions

2. demanding preferential treatment

3. filing frivolous lawsuits

They came here illegally & got jobs at Wendy's but then had to be fired since they're not legally allowed to work here.

Wendy's was sympathetic & put considerable effort into helping them to become citizens. But Wendy's lawyers missed a crucial deadline & the government is not very flexible about such matters.

Instead of receiving appreciation, gratitude or applause for their efforts, Wendy's received a notice that the illegals are suing the company for firing them.

Tucker Carlson recently interviewed their attorney. The intriguing & somewhat entertaining transcript can be found here from MSNBC. We should have seen this coming. It's not as though we didn't know litigation abuse is happening constantly in the US.

I've heard that America has roughly 5% of the world's population but more than 75% of the world's lawyers. I don't know if that's true but it wouldn't surprise me. It's pretty much been all downhill since some idiot stuck a paper cup of hot coffee in her own crotch while driving & was shocked when the coffee spilled on her hoo-haw.

This was bound to happen. People can sneak into our country because of lax border security. They can live & work here unencumbered by taxes or any debt to society unlike the rest of us.

We pay outrageous health & car insurance premiums to make up for all of the unlicensed drivers & anonymous hospital patients.

When we ask them to please follow our laws they attempt to disrupt our society & intimidate our citizens via gigantic protests. It's their effort to pressure our nation to change our laws just for them, like one big temper tantrum.

So it was only a matter of time until they realized that not only is it easy to get in to, but once you're here you can sue law-abiding citizens for refusing to aid & abet your criminal activity.

In the interest of preserving America, I suggest the hot topic next election season isn't gun control, energy or even immigration.

The key to preventing a further downslide of our nation lies in another area altogether: limits on law school enrollment & graduation.

Bizarro World

Some of the stories in the news are difficult to believe. Do you ever read an online newspaper & wonder for a moment if you accidentally went to The Onion instead?

Here are some of the better ones that I've read recently:

Urine big trouble, mister
Children today have enough to deal with what with child predators, school shootings, bullies & the horrifying wave of "healthy" foods in schools nationwide. As if they don't have enough on their minds, why not bother your young relatives at school when you need a cup of urine?

A Kentucky man was recently arrested in an elementary school, soliciting clean urine for a drug test. When his poor little nephew couldn't produce, he started asking other children & they alerted a teacher.

But don't we all have one of these uncles? If he's anything like me, it'll be years before little Timmy makes a connection between this incident & the "horns" that smell like a skunk at Uncle Bob's but he will make the connection.

Later on in high school or college, Uncle Bob will be briefly popular with Timmy & his friends until they realize that he's the only one of the group that never springs for the pizza.


When Your Little Buddy Lets You Down
In unrelated criminal urine activity a Florida man is in big trouble for not being able to produce. For unknown reasons, the convenience store clerk peed into a bottle of Mountain Dew & then sold it to a customer who got ill.

As part of his sentencing, the man has to undergo regular drug tests but now finds he suffers from a shy bladder & is unable to produce. According to an MSN News article, peeing got him into this mess & now peeing is the only thing that can get him out of it.

Talk about scared straight.


Donate to Pension for Child Molesters
A group of Roman-Catholic priests are raising ire by soliciting donations for defrocked priests. In some cases, this wouldn't be such a bad thing. Some very good priests have been defrocked & excommunicated for asking the Church to be more progressive.


Some have ordained women, gotten married, supported same-sex marriage or merely spoken out against Church positions on bioethical issues.

Not all defrocked priests are potential martyrs & some totally deserve to be excommunicated. Like the pedophiles.

These men have ruined the lives of countless victims & families. They went to great lengths to hide their crimes at the expense of others. The average pedophile is said to have victimized approximately 117 children.

Unfortunately, it's primarily pedophiles that are being helped by this organization, although the group will give the money to a fund for the ill if they run out of needy child molesters.

The Manchester Union Leader reports that The Organization of Concerned Priests is a registered non-profit group that requests a minimum $1000 donation from all priests.

Most disturbingly, the group's president was quoted as saying, "We could not imagine how we would have coped if we were in their shoes."

Well for starters could I suggest not molesting children, not abusing your power, not manipulating everyone around you, not tarnishing an entire religion, not leading a life of crime . . .

I could go on & on but the basic idea here is that, forgiveness is a basic tenet of the Catholic faith & very few people are completely cut off from the Church entirely. Even those who've been disciplined & removed from service - including pedophiles - are usually eligible for various benefits.

The absolute heinousness of the extent of the crimes of which these men are guilty must be astonishing if they are completely cut off from the Church. The fact that these peers would solicit on their behalf when the world has an endless supply of worthy & needy people is horrifying.

Seriously

My bum hurts me. What can I do? - Anonymous

At the risk of some immature goofball laughing his/her head off at my gullibility, I'm going to assume that this is a real question & answer it.

I can empathize with your situation but there's only one thing I can say: See a doctor. Don't be embarassed, just do it. As healthcare workers, they've seen things that you can't even imagine.

Don't ever feel ashamed or uncomfortable discussing your problems or concerns with a professional. They're trained to help you without judging or blaming & their job is to make you better, as well as educating you to prevent further problems.

If you don't have insurance, you need to go online to locate a free clinic or reduced-fee program in your area. There are a number of such places in our local area.

There are countless things that could be causing your discomfort & you didn't give me a whole lot of information to narrow it down.

For the record, even a very detailed description would likely have received the same response so there's no need to elaborate.

It could be an external problem such as a splinter, insect sting or puncture in the fleshy area which can be very painful (I speak from personal experience here).

It could be an internal problem such as hemorrhoids (swollen veins) or a blockage of some sort.

Another potential culprit of mayhem is your diet. An unhealthy diet can cause all sorts of problems so it may be something as simple as a lack of fiber or insufficient hydration.

Whatever the cause, you won't be able to rectify it (no pun intended, I swear) without professional assistance. Don't delay, see a doctor or nurse & feel better soon.

10/10/2006

Quickies

Just a little something to brighten your day. If you haven't seen these already, you're guaranteed a chuckle.


Target Kills Hit Man
Read this fantastic story from MSN Crime here, it's too good. A woman came home from work & caught a suspected burglar in her home. When he attacked her, she strangled him with her bare hands. You go, girl!

Even better, the inept burglar had brought along a backpack containing his day planner. Notes in the book pointed authorities toward the woman's estranged husband & they soon revealed that this was a hired hit gone horribly wrong.

The moral of this story is that it doesn't always pay to be thrifty. Sometimes you really do need a professional to do the job. So if you're planning on having someone whacked, do not hire the janitor from your local adult video store, even if he offers you a really good deal.


Overexposure
If you plan on posting or responding to any internet sex ads, you may want to take below the neck shots & leave out your phone number.

Some guy in Seattle hijacked a real internet sex ad posted by a woman on Craigslist. He collected all of the responses, including photos, email addresses, IM's & even phone numbers then published them all on a prankster website to publicly shame respondents.

These people were complete strangers to him & he basically said that he did it because he likes to piss people off. While I hate a cheating husband as much as anyone, I don't understand why this guy feels the need to publicly shame people or possibly destroy lives.

Incidentally, I had no idea there was a casual sex encounter section on Craigslists until I started looking into this story. Eeeew. I always just look at jobs & bartering, although I have seen some hilarious "sex wanted" ads in the barter section.

The prankster in this case has repeatedly made his own personal information such as photo, address & phone number available online so I bet the next time we hear about him it will be a story about someone beating his ass mercilessly.


Re-Neducation at it's finest
Maybe it makes me a pop-culture trivia whore, but reading this story reminded me of the Simpsons episode where Flanders is Big Brother & everyone had to be brainwashed-a-rino.

Schools in Georgia now have an alternative to those pesky lunch tickets - your child's fingerprints. Instead of using a coupon, which is sooo tedious & cumbersome, they can just stick their finger in a scanner.

This really inspires confidence. because we all know how efficient & disciplined our government is with personal information. The thought of having your child's fingerprints in a government database is priceless really. How soon can they install a GPS chip?

I expect we'll shortly be informed that thousands of lunch preferences have been inadvertently released to the public when a lunchlady loses her laptop.


You're kidding, right?
A court in the UK recently decided against Hormel Foods, manufactureer of Spam canned meats, in a trademark suit. Hormel tried to get a court to believe that people think of fake meat in a can & not junk emails when they hear the term "spam".

Seriously.

Envy

I've never been much of a fashionista, but there was a time when I'd search high & low for just the right piece. My spirit was soon broken by chasing the unattainable. I wanted a fuzzy leopard print dress. This was before the leopard print craze so the choices were few & far between, but they were out there.

I searched high & low for the perfect dress, imagining in my mind every detail. Basically what I wanted was a lightweight fall fabric A-line but I couldn't find one anywhere. Countless hours & various roadtrips were dedicated to my own holy grail of casualwear, to no avail.

Eventually I gave up & purchased an empire-waist version that served it's purpose, was comfortable & cute but somehow just never felt right. I was disapointed, but I knew I'd get over it. Until the day I saw her wearing my dress.

Was it a beautiful woman walking down the street? No. It was a fake goose on someone's lawn. If I'd seen the dress on another woman, I would have surely complimented it & fished for information. But the goose wasn't at all forthcoming. Resisting the urge to kick her in her smug beak was a very trying moment.

Of course, I got over it, although I've never forgotten. But almost 10 years later I was driving down a quiet street on a lovely fall day. As I admired the cloudless sky, colorful leaves & warm sunshine I caught a glimpse of something in my peripheral vision.

And it was a goose in a fantastically cut A-line leopard print dress.

I'm not really bitter anymore, not much. I was a little miffed at the time but I've gotten over it. But the current item on my must-have list is a Weiner Whistle from Oscar Meyer circa the early '60's. I'm having a lot of trouble finding one & would really love to add it to my Weinermobile collection.

If I see one hanging from the neck of a lawn gnome, I'm just going to do a smash & grab, I swear.

10/09/2006

Unschool Me

I've just learned about a controversial new trend in education called "Unschooling". An MSN Health article on this method of homeschooling describes it as an unstructured way for children to learn what they want, when they want, however they'd like to learn it.

Unlike homeschooling, there's no curriculum & parents don't use any format to teach kids. The child is the architect of learning by being allowed to explore whatever they want.

Where I come from, this is called parenting & has nothing to do with school. Parents are supposed to do these things regardless of the type of school a child attends.

School isn't supposed to teach you every last little thing in the world. Your parents are supposed to fill in the blanks.

But the casual attitude of unschooling is a welcome change from the parents that schedule every second of a child's day, from Kaplan kindergarten prep to no-score "everyone's a winner" soccer.
When I hear the term homeschooling, I can't help but think of the old adage "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

I wish I could feed my dog a t-bone from free-range, organic black angus with no hormones that's infused with all necessary nutrients every day. But I don't just stop buying dog food & start screwing around in the kitchen.

How will a child ever fully realize their own personality if there's no seperation from mom & dad? Nobody wants their kid to come home from first grade demanding platforms & a belly shirt "like Xtina's" because everyone else has them.

At what other point are you going to get an opening to teach the kids about sleaziness & how there's no place for it in a little mind full of self-respect? Or, if you're of another school of thought, this is your chance to instruct little Bambi on using what nature's given her to get ahead.

Hey, our future generations of pole dancers & trophy wives have to come from somewhere.

Sure some of the teachers are impatient, mean or unqualified. But someday your child will work for a big dumb idiot somewhere & they'll have no way to cope if their only reference point is mommy & daddy's unconditional love dashed with sprinkles of constant encouragement.

The frank sexuality among America's youth is disturbing at times. Nobody wants their child to be a pimp daddy or hoochie mama. But blinders are temporary. You can't shield your child from society forever.

Would you rather a tween have an identity crisis in 9th grade when Tommy breaks her heart by dumping her for Sally (because Sally makes out behind the gym)? Or a socially inept college sophmore blow an ivy league scholarship chasing booty?

The clique-ish torture of American schools are a right of passage. If you take that away from a child's scope of knowledge, they'll never be able to deal with catty coworkers, backstabbing colleagues or the management that flourishes through nepotism alone.

At that rate, your child won't even be able to fathom the candidates on a given ballot in an Allegheny County election.

And don't ignore the fact that the darker childhood experiences often make the most accomplished adults. If Bruce Wayne hadn't fallen in that bat-filled well because of his overprotective mother, where would Gotham City be today?

Jerk Report

Far be it from me to judge others but -- who am I kidding? It's one of the things I do best. I myself am surely not above reproach & have at times displayed jerk-like characteristics of my own.

As such, I'm perfectly at ease with others pointing out my shortcomings. Hey, everyone needs some constructive criticism at times. (Although I will say that occasionally those closest to me do get a bit carried away when I open up this dialogue, ahem, Mr. Steph).

But there's an overwhelming presence of jackasses int he world & I feel it's my duty to call them out on it. This may become a regular weekly post, there's such a rich supply of material.


Sienna Miller - Not really a jerk

Now, before I'm accused of Pittsburgh-bashing, hear me out. There's a lot to do here but we're not a real in-your-face kind of place. Shallow people, people who aren't very smart & just plain old boring folks will not find the treasures of our fair city.

Don't hate her, pity her. I can find a good time anywhere you stick me. I've had a great night in Wellsboro, people. All it takes to enjoy yourself in a strange town is half a brain & the will to have fun. If you've got those two things, you'll have a blast. If you don't, you'll be bored for the rest of your life. And when you're not bored, you're probably doing something lame but think it's cool, which is pitiful.



Luke Ravenstahl - Not a jerk

Stop being angry at the mayor for his response to Sienna Miller, people. What was he supposed to say to her? "Sorry you're not finding enough to do here, ma'am. Maybe you need a handler to accompany you. I'm sure we could find you a nanny." Or maybe, "Gee, who do you think Jude's with while your here?"

Cut him a break. He handled it with class & didn't sink to her level. Which says a lot because her apology was worse than her original disparaging remarks, in my opinion.



Ben Roethlisberger - Dancing on the jerk line, but hasn't crossied it -- yet

He didn't have a sophmore slump, so if he has a junior slump, we really shouldn't whine. He played two phenonmenal seasons & was instrumental in our Super Bowl win.

The reason Big Ben is in precarious territory isn't his less than stellar performance on the field. Let's face it, the guy has looked death in the eye twice in the last six months so he does deserve a break.

The problem with Ben is that he's always hurt after a loss. He always limps off the field or pulls in his throwing arm or holds a sore finger . . . You get the idea.

Just admit that you had a bad game & figure out how to do better next time. Spend less time making excuses (or being a hypochondriac) and more time improving your play.


People who want to decriminalize child pornography - Jerk is way too mild

A local woman was recently arrested for running a child porn website. Her site was different from traditional sites in that there weren't any pictures on it. She composed stories about raping, torturing & murdering children. And perverts paid to read them.

In today's PG, there's a
letter to the editor decrying the arrest. The writer contends that this is somehow not child porn.

Just because it lacks photographs does not make it ok, mister. I mean, even Sienna Miller could probably figure out that it's porn. If pictures are porn but words aren't, why isn't Penthouse Letters just lying around on every reception area coffee table next to Newsweek?

What's really disturbing about this letter is that he attacks the Mary Beth Buchanon for prosecuting the case. He charges that she's wrongfully imposing her morals on society & abusing her power by arresting those who don't subscribe to the same.

It sounds to me like this guys may just be a disgruntled client. If he was truly a zealous civil libertarian, he'd spend his energy fighting any number of misguided government attempts to criminalize perfectly legal acts* instead of publicly haranguing law-enforcement officials for doing their jobs.

*the Patriot Act, our current Big Brother-esque administration, the local smoking bill, the federal bill against online poker, etc.


The not-handicapped-enough - Not jerks at all

Another gem in today's letter to the editor is a diatribe complaining that some people parking in handicapped parking spaces simply aren't handicapped enough. If you can make it past the crazy pro-kiddy porn letter, you'll find this
skillfully crafted work of enlightenment down at the bottom of the page.

So what exactly makes you qualified to determine whether or not a person is handicapped enough to deserve a placard? The writer seems to feel that since she's handicapped, she's the best judge. I disagree completely. A medical doctor has decided that a person requires a placard so your opinion kind of leaves something to be desired.


To be fair, I have heard that there's abuse in the handicapped-parking placard system. Shame on the lazy people who aren't actually handicapped but get a tag.

But she's approaching this all wrong. If abuse of the system is rampant, let's tighten up the criteria. How about lobbying for more spaces in every lot to serve a larger population of disabled consumers? That would be fair to everyone.

But fairness is not her goal. She prefers to get what she wants by shafting others, simply because their disability is not as blatantly obvious as her own. She feels that only people who require devices such as scooters or oxygen tanks should be allowed to have them. Apparently, medical doctors & disabled-rights organizations across the nation disagree.

You can be disabled without requiring a scooter. For that matter, I've heard of lazy people with no physical handicap using scooters. The disabled person with no scooter deserves a better parking space than the person with the scooter, in my mind.

She closes dramatically by stating that she'd gladly give up her handicapped-parking space to anyone that will take her disability, too. I can empathize with her frustration but her ignorance is astonishing.


Maybe that person she's staring down is more handicapped than she, but too proud to use a device. Maybe they're too poor to afford their device, on a waiting list for one or disabled in some way that a device can't help.

Or maybe they're at the mall to buy one, you self-centered harpy.

Sweet, Sweet Question

I like candy. Do you like candy? - Anonymous

Thanks for asking, Anonymous. I enjoy candy very much. I'm partial to Reese's peanut butter cups, Chewy Sweetharts & very sugary gum.

My heart irreparably broke when the Candy-Rama warehouse in the Strip closed last year. (This year? I don't know, time is flying). That place was like a sweet, sweet wonderland.

Sometimes I even dream in candy. I used to have a recurring dream where the world was entirely made out of that Circus Peanuts stuff, but in many different flavors. It was a fantastic world where everything was cushy & soft & delicious.

10/03/2006

I'd Like to Thank the Academy

Ok, I got all excited by the questions but now they've stopped coming . . . again.

And, uh, a big thanks to all of my friends who forgot that I have a blog, like Lisa S. of Rancho Cucamunga, Ca. One of my oldest & dearest friends -- or so I thought!

A huge "Thank You" to Connie who not only read this blog but was also kind enough to email me to say that she enjoyed it. You rock, Connie! If you were a band, I'd totally wear your shirt & hold up my lighter.

If by chance, Connie, you do have a band, please send me music to post on the blog. I'll bet that both of my readers will dig it.

As always, a big thanks to Heather. Without her inquisitive nature to motivate me, I'd be an even more erratic poster than I already am now. By the way, Heather, how's the book coming?

Stuff

Things I Do Not Like
(in no particular order)

1. Mayonnaise
(This one's in order. I hate mayonnaise more than anything.)
2. Spiders
3. People who stand too close in line
4. Broccoli
5. Suspenders on anyone over 5
6. Doing dishes
7. Mandals
8. OJ without pulp
9. Cars which have been "Fast & Furious"-itized (for lack of a better

word -- Can someone please come up with a word for that? Let's
have a contest!)
10. Pepsi
11. Fake butter on my popcorn
12. People with unpleasant aromas
13. School
14. Wearing my glasses
15. Living on a dead end street. Because all of the weirdos come here

to . . . do things.

Just tonight, I chased 2 middle-aged trysters out of the street in front of my house! They weren't kids goofing off, they were late 40's if they were a day & I just happened to be walking my dog. I just thought there were some cars parked there but as we got closer . . . Eeeeeewww!

If only there were some way to clean my eyes! There is no sight so repulsive as a not-aging-gracefully bar hag with too tight clothes, too much makeup & huge 80's hair blowing a Larry David lookalike in the street in front of my home!



Just to show I'm not a big grump, I'll be positive too:

Things I Like

1. Worsterchestershire sauce
2. Grasshoppers
3. People aware of personal space
4. Carrots
5. Pants that don't require suspenders
6. Washing the car
7. Sandals
8. Fresh cherry juice
9. When next year's models come up & car manufacturers whip out

the spiffy new paint colors & you wonder, why didn't they ever
make cars that color before? That is a fantastic color!
10. A&W Root Beer
11. Popcorn with real butter & lots of salt
12. Good perfume or cologne
13. Work
14. Wearing my contacts
15. Chasing weirdos out of my neighborhood. I don't enjoy it per se,

but it's better than just letting them stay here doing . . .
uuuughhhhh! I can't even finish my sentence with that horrible
picture in my head!!!


Things I Love

1. BBQ sauce
2. Butterflies
3. Polite strangers that don't laugh when I fall
4. Corn
5. A-Line dresses
6. Cleaning the house (not the act, just the results)
7. Being barefoot
8. OJ with mucho pulp (I like to chew it, babay)
9. Mustang GT's
10. Coca Cola
11. Caramel corn
12. The smell of rain
13. Vacations
14. Cool sunglasses
15. My quiet neighborhood sans interlopers

10/01/2006

Yay! Questions!!!

Hey Steph ~

Couple of things I was wondering...

Do you watch Grey's Anatomy?

Why does there always seem to be a room in the house that's more cold, and one that's more hot?

Since there can be ghosts of people, do you think there are ghosts of spiders? Like, when you're sitting there and you feel a little tickle on your forearm, what if that's the ghost of a spider?

What kind of toothpaste do you use?

Thanks! - Heather

My, Heather, you are one inquisitive lady! But I do appreciate the work so thanks for writing. Let me just say, these are all excellent questions.

I don't watch Grey's Anatomy. I know it's supposed to be the greatest thing since pizza delivery & I'm sure I'd love it. But my TV schedule is packed full of stuff I can't live without & I just can't fit anything else into the rotation.

Ever since I got the DVR, my TV watching has drastically increased. I'm ashamed to admit how much time I spend with the remote in my hand but let's just say, I've been known to sacrifice some sleep for Prison Break, CSI & Scrubs . . .

As far as the hot/cold rooms go, I think it's probably some complicated thing involving physics that I could neither understand nor explain. My bedroom is extremely cold in winter & extremely hot in summer, while the rest of the house is completely normal all year round.

Immature sex jokes aside, we haven't been able to come up with any real explanation for it. Maybe they screwed up the insulation in that room or on that particular section of the roof.

It probably has something to do with the placement. For instance, rooms on the corner of the house often seem colder than others. Maybe they didn't square the corners properly which allows a draft or dampness to penetrate the wall (moisture accumulation could also contribute to humidity & a warmer feeling).

I'm going to do some research ont his one & try to come up with a better answer.

I believe in ghosts & think all living things can become ghosts. If you believe that all living creatures have a spirit of some sort, then it seems logical that those spirits would be fundamentally similar in many ways, including what they "do" after the body dies.

Besides, it would be awfully species-ist to assume that only humans can become ghosts. I mean, what makes us so much better than other species, right? In many ways, animals & insects are far more attuned & receptive to the paranormal than most people.

I've talked to some very credible, not-at-all-crazy people who've had paranormal experiences with animal spirits. Most of the time it involves a pet who's passed away & initiates brief contact to comfort a grieving master. Usually it's a dog, but I've also heard of cats, birds, horses & even pigs. So yes, I think that unexplained tickle could be a spider ghost or ant or cootie or something else.


Horse ghosts are also frequently encountered on battlefields, such as the many National Park historic sites from the Revolutionary & Civil Wars. Sometimes dogs are mentioned there too, as soldiers often adopted strays as mascots. In fact, I've got a great story from Gettysburg about a dog ghost. Since we're coming up on Halloween, I think maybe I'll start posting some of the more interesting Gettysburg stories.


My favorite toothpaste is Aquafresh Extreme Clean. It kind of annoys me that everything is "extreme" nowadays & I was never a big fan of regular Aquafresh. But it's really good. Sometimes I switch it up & use Mentadent or Arm & Hammer but I never use anything with whitening because it makes my teeth hurt terribly.