Pop Song of the Week: "Puttin' on the Ritz"

This is obviously not a Mitt Romney campaign video. And I doubt Barack Obama would approve of it either -- though I did find it ironic that the blackface sequences were censored by the same MTV which refused to play black music videos until David Bowie shamed them into it.

Quote of the Week

I've got to be honest. I met President Obama and he was a nice fellow, but I'm not going to vote for him, and I'm not going to vote for Romney. So, that leaves me without many options. I don't see much that I like in either of them. It's a tough world and I don't think either of them is capable of representing this country right now.
--Merle Haggard, The Dallas Observer, June 28, 2012

Random Thoughts

It is so depressing seeing a librarian referred to as a "customer service representive." Especially since most library patrons aren't necessarily likely to be flattered by being referred to as "customers."

It is even more depressing to wonder how many books my local library system got rid of in order to make room for its expanded internet system and its multiple DVD racks.

Let someone wish you a "Happy Holidays" instead of a "Merry Christmas" and certain Christian people will make a big deal out of it. Let a retail store deliberately expand its hours so that most of its staff has to miss out on Thanksgiving and those same Christians don't even bother to say a word.

How seriously should we take someone who talks about wanting to get rid of large corporations yet constantly talks about hanging out at Starbucks instead of the local library and buying their books through Amazon instead of the local indy book store?

The coming election won't hinge on how crazy Michele Bachmann looks or how weird Mitt Romney's religious background is. It will hinge on which candidate is most likely to do something that will improve this country's economy.

One does not have to be crazy to worry about the ever-increasing federal deficit but it certainly helps the current administration to think so.

Much of our country came from countries that could not afford to keep all their territory. Part of the reason they could not afford this is because they often ran up huge debts borrowing money to pay for foreign wars. And yet it is so fashionable to act clueless when Americans start to make a big deal about similar practices here in America.

It is no longer that big a deal to be mad at Wall Street. Even my conservative Republican mother is angry about the latest Wall Street scandals. What matters now is doing something constructive with that anger.

The real trouble with anarchy is that it is at best a temporary condition. Sooner or later it is replaced by a more ordered system such as, say, feudalism or fascism. Which means that those people who advocate anarchy are in reality a future dictator's best friends.

I am so glad that the Iraqi War is finally over. I just hope it stays that way.