If Teachers "Touch The Future", Return The Favor And Thank Them In Advance For The Upcoming National Identity Crisis

Remember when you were in elementary school and on your birthday your mother would send along (or even come by in person to deliver) cupcakes or a birthday cake? The entire class would get to break from the normal day, and take part in a short lived sugar eating contest to celebrate the day you were brought into this world. Well, today I heard something troubling ... in the public school system's quest to jam equality rather than homemade delicacies down the throats of all pupils, moms are forced to make only healthy (not such a bad idea there) birthday snacks and also required to list all ingredients included in the food preparation. "Why?" you ask ... because if one, and only one, of the students is allergic to any of the materials used in the construction of mom's care package, none of the children get to eat any of it at all. Yes ... it's just a lousy cake, pudding cup, or even carrot strips. But what really bakes my noodle here is this; We are teaching children at an early age that if something doesn't fit their bill, the entire group involved must go without for the benefit of one. What ever happened to taking one for the team? How ironic, the old saying of "There is no I in team!" still holds true ... only now, the selfish version seems to be widely accepted in society. Things go wrong in life, not everything always works out happy in the end, and you really can't win them all all the time! I'd much rather have kids that were able to adapt and overcome, rather than have kids that don't give a second thought about hopping right in to the PC line ... just like they're supposed to.

Finally ... An Honest Politician!

"Most people don't have the luxury of living to be 80 years old, so it's hard for me to feel sorry for them." - Phil Gramm

Pharmaceutical Frenzy

Okay ... everybody knows somebody who is a constant pill popper. Pills to wake up, pills to go to sleep, pills to mellow out, and pills to .. uh ... well ... "bring things up to speed". Where does this love affair with prescription medication end? Granted, pharmaceutical companies are doing an amazing job to prevent illnesses and assist those to live a better life that suffer from ailments ... but give me a break! The least little sniffle and parents are running their kids to the ER to get checked immediately. My personal favorite is popular abuse of antibiotics. That same kid who may have a cold is prescribed a healthy dose of antibiotics for no other reason than to make the mom and dad feel better. Hello ... a cold is a viral infection, not a bacterial infection ... basically, the pills have no effect on the outcome of the sickness (other than give Jr. a care of the runs). Is this fascination with instant healing nothing more than a product of the instant world we live in today?

Jackass: The Title Says It All

The opening of the new Jackass movie this weekend brought in an estimated $28.1 million dollars during its debut weekend. Van Toffler, president of MTV’s music and film group, quoted Johnny Knoxville as saying "Holy s%$t, we’ve done it again. What is wrong with the country?" The apparent success of these films featuring a wide variety of stunts, dares, and just plain mayhem really offers an interesting glimpse into the American psyche. Don't get me wrong, I as do millions of other Americans find stupid people doing stupid things extremely entertaining, and look forward to seeing the movie ... that's why I just can't get enough of COPS, Worlds Wildest Police Chases, and You Gotta See This. But just imagine what sort of impression we make on the rest of this world after they view something like this. No wonder why Americans are not so well received across the globe.

Did You Check In The Lost And Found?

"President Bush said Wednesday he would order U.S. forces to go after Osama bin Laden inside Pakistan if he received good intelligence on the fugitive al Qaeda leader's location.", the associated press reported today. But unfortunately, "good intelligence" is what got us into the Iraq thing in the first place ... or so we're led to believe. With the technology available today, not to mention the technology which remains classified, I find it really hard to accept the fact that our resources just can't seem to find Osama bin Laden ... there's only so many caves out there. I'm sorry, but the whole hiding in a cave theory just conjures up thoughts of guys with long, thick beards and towels on their heads popping up from old hollowed out tree stumps and sneaking out from behind fake rocks like in Hogan's Heroes. Personally I think the main objective is not to find him because he's really never been lost, but rather keep him secluded where he is because he will do less damage alive sneaking out video tapes from 101 Rock Cut Way than if he were killed and consequently martyred by his supporters.

It Looks Good On Paper

Today I saw a television commercial for yet another "earn your degree at home" company. Although I never really paid any attention (as most of us probably don't) to these "learn at your pace and your schedule" academic enrichment classes, today I did. Now I understand that home schooling techniques yield results that equal or surpass classroom studies ... but how can a person earn a degree in computer repair, heating and air conditioning mechanic, electrician, motorcycle repair, and especially diesel mechanic from the comfort of their own home? All of these skills require hands on learning ... do they mail you a diesel engine to dismantle and reassemble? In conjunction with all manuals and books, does the heating class package come with a torch, solder and boiler? And if so ... how will they know if you put it together correctly? And if you did ... then what ... there's now a boiler sitting in your living room! Just imagine what a great conversation piece a rebuilt diesel engine would make in your den! Besides, what employer really puts any merit to a trades degree earned from home? Such a sheepskin would more than likely only be useful in one particular "office" in the company.

Useless Trivia Fact #8

According to Guinness, the longest recorded bout of hiccups lasted for 65 years.

Birds Of A Feather ...

After a break in at the CapitalOne Bank in Texarkana, Texas, the financial institution took the offensive in preventing another such incident from occurring. The culprit ... a pigeon. Somehow this criminal mastermind not only figured out how to infiltrate the bank's perimeter defenses (such as windows, walls and roofing) and penetrate the state of the art security system, but also had the audacity to defecate on a patron (an obvious display of superiority). So the bank decided it was time to send a message to those thousands of other pigeons out there, and called in the exterminator who strategically placed poisoned corn on the roof in an attempt to cause illness and ( ... I guess) fear of this particular building among the pigeon community. Unfortunately, the fact that wild animals will flock to a prevalent food source and feed until they are full was overlooked ... and now the city is plagued by dying birds dive bombing the public below. I guess buying a fake owl would have just been too easy of a solution.

Five Years Later

Patoooohee ... sorry, I'm still trying to get that bad taste out of my mouth after watching President Bush's address from the oval office tonight. September 11th should be a day to reflect on the lives lost from the terrorist attacks five years ago, and not an opportunity to try as sell his "war on terror" (yet again) to the American public. This obvious choice of bad judgment on Mr. Bush's part (in my opinion) can only be viewed as a last ditch effort to try and reach as many Americans as possible while they are tuning to evening news coverage, because any other means of catching their interest by His Presidency have been completely unsuccessful ... simply put, the public just doesn't want to hear his crap anymore. I can only imagine what sort of presidential poo poo address we can all expect to hear on Pearl Harbor Day and the trifecta to follow on Memorial Day.

On 9/11/01, FDNY lost 343 ... you will never be forgotten my brothers. 5 5 5 5.

Telephone Poles: Soon To Be Only Found In Museums?

My wife got a new cell phone plan the other day, and had an off the wall thought. How long will it be until land line phones companies are pretty much non existent? For about half the cost of a home phone, she can answer calls no matter where in the country she is, make calls to anywhere in the country without incurring any long distance charges, enjoy all the same features that land line service offers, and can call people at night and on weekends without putting a single dent in the plan's minute package. Many people I know don't even want the hassle of another phone to manage. And since the popularization of internet VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), others have switched their entire phone system over to programs that incorporate their broadband or DSL connection into functioning, reliable, and inexpensive telecommunication devices. So anyone care to take a guess as to when land lines become completely washed up, because I really don't think it's too far into the future.

Cigar Anyone?

ABC is set to launch a new mini-series entitled "The Path to 9/11" that spotlights the events leading up to the terrorist attacks. And before the final editing has even been completed, politicians and other intelligence heavyweights are up in arms about the how factual this piece really is. Ironically, the ones making most of the fuss and demanding the show be either corrected or abandoned are the members of the former Clinton administration ... like they have any room to criticize anyone for handing the public bogus information and putting their own personal needs above the county's. Yeah yeah yeah, all the Clinton supporters will be filling up my inbox with claims of economic prosperity and low unemployment hoopla ... like that stuff just happens overnight after a wave of the presidential magical wand, give me a break! Anyway, my point is ... what are these people so afraid of? We, the majority of the American public, may actually get a glimpse of the early multiple warning signs that they chose to ignore and not take seriously? Or are they really upset over the validity of the material? Given the reputation of former President Clinton ... I'm leaning toward option 1.

... Smart Man

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." - Abraham Lincoln

When You Number Is Up ... It's Up

Steve Irwin, the enthusiastic Australian "Crocodile Hunter", passed away after being attacked by a stingray while shooting a TV program off Australia's north coast. He has for years, he has captivated audiences with his wildlife documentaries that employed less than unorthodox techniques in getting up close and personal with the native (and very often deadly) animals. Aside from his television work, Steve Irwin was also a passionate environmental conservationist and will always be fondly remembered in both capacities. But honestly, when you get down to it, you can only tempt fate so many times ... eventually you lose.

Bigger Is Better

I saw a newscast from cnn today that left me with my jaw hanging open. Apparently, even kids are not immune from fashionable medication. Parents across the country are injecting their kids daily with growth hormones because their children (who range from ages 6-16) are short. That's right ... there's nothing medically wrong with them ... they're just short. Some parents were quoted as saying something to the effect of "What chance would my son have in the business world if his adult height turned out to be only 5'1" to 5'5"?" Other parents were quick to cite that smaller kids get picked on more at school, and administering growth hormones gives their children a more level playing field. In return fire, some of the interviewed experts claimed that although these hormones do in fact work, the problem really isn't with the child's height ... it is more than likely a lack of parenting skills in the teaching of basic social skills and a forgoing of instructing their children how to become adaptive to situations and learning to be resourceful. Other interviewed medical professionals said that quite simply, it's nothing more than parents designing what kind of kids they want. Either way you look at it this increased height doesn't come cheap, the average cost of this altitude enhancement goes for about $50,000 an inch! Gee ... tough choice here ... build my son four inches taller, or use that money to actually do something productive ... like send him to college!!!.

"You've Got Mail"

Radio Shack, holding true to it's announced plans to cut back the amount of employees working at the Fort Worth headquarters by about 400, did begin to notify personnel that their employment there was terminated immediately ... via email. That's right, the company did not even have enough nerve to sit these individuals down with a supervisor and address them face to face ... kind of like when you stop in a local Radio Shack retail store and have to practically beg the 18 year old nerd who works there to help you because he too busy either playing with the display computers or on the phone with his buddies. Quite frankly, I'm really not sure how the company has managed to stay in business, let alone remain competitive with all the other national chain stores out there. Finding out that employee terminations were cowardly issued via electronic messaging just seems to put the last piece in the puzzle for this outfit in my opinion. As a severance compensation, employees got one to three weeks pay for each year of service, up to 16 weeks for hourly employees and 36 weeks for those with base bay of at least $90,000. I wonder if that was direct deposited?