It's Sunday, and if it's Sunday, it must be politics day on my blog, but the thing is I've got this cold/flu thing going on and so my resistance is down...and so is my tolerance for Beltway inertia and pettiness.
So This Week with George Stephanopoulos found the minority and majority whips firmly toting their party lines on healthcare reform and the economy, which they can both afford to do since they've got money and healthcare, so what do they care if the American people are suffering while they stand firm for political gain? It was a waste of time and nothing I haven't heard before and I repeat my earlier suggestion that now would be a good time for the White House to call them in one by one for a little frying pan therapy until they come to their senses.
And just a word on the stimulus to my childish compatriots who need instant gratification or they consider it a total failure - that's how we got into this economic mess to begin with - by wanting instant gratification - huge, unrealistic returns on investments, houses with no money down, etc. Thank God we've got a president who's an adult with enough common sense to know that this can only be fixed successfully over the long term, by seeing the bigger picture and implementing programs that will ultimately create jobs, improve our living conditions, and yes, turn the economy around. But this will not happen overnight, and so everyone's saying it didn't work. I say, just sit down, be quiet, and wait awhile. And while you're waiting, you might want to pitch in and help. You know, you could mentor a child after school, or babysit for a working mother, or recycle, visit the elderly and bring a hot meal - anything at all would be constructive and you don't have to look far to see the need. So I'm still affording my President his Superman cape until further notice.
Shockingly, there are reports from sources who say that Dick Cheney directed the CIA to keep secret a counterterrorism program, meaning that even Congress wasn't briefed that such a program existed. First of all, duh. What is this, a surprise? Of course he did all kinds of secret and probably illegal stuff. Are we seriously feigning shock now? And though I believe that ultimately nothing will come of it, it would be just and fitting if he and the former President were prosecuted to the full extent of the law. If the "when the President does it, it's not illegal" argument didn't work for Nixon, it shouldn't work for Bush and Cheney either.
Now on to fast food, a logical segue from Dick Cheney. So Oscar Mayer died at age 95, which got me thinking and googling. And it turns out that Colonel Sanders died at 90, but Dave Thomas died at 69. The conclusion I'm drawing is that store bought processed meat is better for you than Wendy's, but if you must eat out, go for KFC. And I didn't even use charts and graphs!
Judge Sonia Sotomayor is starting her confirmation hearings, and I don't mind telling; you that I'll probably just watch the highlights. I was attentive for Clarence Thomas and John Roberts and frankly, they both made me sick, so I think I'm going to sit this one out. Yup. Good luck Sonia.
Finally, I wanted to close with a touch of the absurd. So there I sat for the 2nd or third week in a row, watching the round table discussion on a political show veer towards Michael Jackson, except this time the discussion was about there being too much media coverage and air time given to a pop singer, which elicited an audible giggle from me because they were spending yet more air time discussing the overabundance of coverage. Am I the only one who finds that funny?
Then George Will chimed in, coining the term "synthetic grief," which he also used to describe the outpouring for Princess Diana. Oh George Will, have ye no heart? Are you really only able to feel for those you know personally? Is there no touch of sadness you can find in your heart for those whose potential was cut short by brevity of years? Is there no way you can feel the tragedy of losing someone who had the courage to say, "Heal the world. Make it a better place for you and for me and the entire human race?" And Princess Diana who walked through land mines to bring attention to those who lost limbs, who held AIDS babies - is there really no way you can see that as a personal loss for us all? Well, I wish you a softening of the heart, my friend - kind of like the kind the Grinch had at the end of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.
Well, since I've covered Congress, the CIA, deli meats, and the Grinch, my work here is done for today. Thanks for stopping by. Please tell your friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment