CommenTerry

Did George W. Bush Need an Introduction?

A poll taken during the summer of 2004 showed that 29% of the American public were familiar with John Kerry. The same poll showed that 67% were familiar with President Bush. Just who are those 33% who weren't familiar with the President after almost four years? Should they have even be voting?

Rainy Days Play with Your Mind

Rainy days have a funny way of making you forget things you would normally remember. On rainy mornings, before I leave my house for work, I always take an extra minute to make sure I haven't forgotten my wallet, security badge, keys, etc.

Prison Reform is Badly Needed

Our prison systems are in dire need of reform. Prisons should be places of confinement, hard work, and rehabilitation for those who have been sentenced to go there. They should not be places where prisoners are abused by guards and other prisoners. However, those who are in charge of our prison systems are either powerless to stop these abuses or they choose to ignore them. In most cases, I believe it's the latter. Politically, it's not risky to take this position as most voters ignorantly believe that anyone going to prison deserves to be abused.

Have Any Laws Actually Come into Effect Yet?

Why are most laws written as if they haven't come into effect yet? For example, "it shall be unlawful to ...." Perhaps that's why lawyers are still just practicing!

How to Handle Looters

Looters are among the lowest of the low and I guarantee you they will be out in force during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. These selfish opportunists take advantage of other people's misfortune during times of disaster or chaos. I think the law ought to be changed to allow police to shoot them on sight.

Is Chris Matthews the Next Tim Russert?

Chris Matthews is the obvious choice to replace Tim Russert on NBC's "Meet the Press" when Russert retires. Matthews is apparently being groomed for that post as host of MSNBC's "Hardball." The guy does his homework and is able to catch politicians and other guests when they flip-flop on issues and/or tell outright lies.

Do Any of These Actually Exist?

More of the world's biggest lies: "pre-shrunk" , "if you're not moving forward, you're moving backward", "deodorizes", "risk-free", "10% of the population are gay", "no questions asked", "you can cancel at any time", "a party can't possibly be any fun without alcohol", "that stock can't possibly drop any further", "equal protection under law",  "the highest standards of ethical conduct", " wrinkle free", "wrinkle resistant", "an idiot could do it", "fair and balanced", "I won't stand in your way", "I won't try to influence your decision", "it doesn't matter to me", "whatever you decide is okay by me", "it's your decision", "easy assembly instructions", "free", "effortless", "500 TV channels", "less is more", "911 changed everything", "we're doing this for the children", "a speedy trial", "the candidate from the independent party", "it's for your own safety", "non-denominational", "below dealer cost/invoice", "it's impossible to get lost in [fill-in-the-blank]", "high speed dial-up internet access", "interest-only mortgages", "can't miss", "can't lose", and "can't go wrong."

Terry's Trivial Trivia # 3

All high definition televisions are digital, but not all digitial televisions are high definition.

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A year is a leap year if it is either (1) evenly divisible by four and not evenly divisible by 100 or (2) it is evenly divisible by 400. This year, 2004, is a leap year because it meets the first test. The year 2000 was a leap year because it met the second test. The years 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not leap years because they met neither test.

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In formal writing, single digit numbers should be spelled out, ex., one, two, three, etc. Double digit numbers can be written using their numerals, ex., 10, 20, 35, etc.

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The third time was the charm for Bob Dole in 1996 when he won the Republican presidential nomination. He had failed in his previous attempts to get the nod in 1980 and 1988.

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For those of you who haven't already heard, the prospective new owner of the New Jersey Nets plans to move the team to Brooklyn, marking the first time since the Dodgers left almost 50 years ago that Brooklyn will be home to a major league sports franchise. From what I'm hearing, though, that move may not actually happen until some time between 2006 and 2009.

Could Football Learn from Hockey?

There needs to be a better a way of breaking ties in division and conference standings in the NFL. I suggest a point system be used as the first tie-breaker. Three points would be awarded for every game. If one team wins in regulation time, that team would receive all three points for that game. If one team wins in overtime, the winner would get two points and the loser would get one. If the game ended in a tie, each team would get one and a half points. Unlike the National Hockey League, these points would not be used to determine positions in the standings; they would only be used for tie-breakers when two or more teams are tied. If this does resolve the tie, the old tie-breakers would be used in their current order.

President Bush's Guaranteed Lie

Although I'm not one of those who subscribes to the belief that President Bush is some kind of evil person who told outright lies about his reasons for going to war with Iraq, I did catch him in one lie during the days leading up to the war. After coming back from his summit in the Azores with Tony Blair, he was asked by a reporter if he would call for a U.N. Security Council vote on the war resolution, even if he knew he did not have enough votes for it to pass. He responded by saying that he definitely would and that he wanted to force everyone to "show their cards." However, after realizing that the vote wasn't going to go his way, he declined to call for it.