CommenTerry

Classic Rants and Raves #33

I never bother with how-to books or step-by-step instructions to accomplish this or that. I've found that these things almost always contain at least one instruction that I'm either unable or unwilling to do. Therefore, the only instructions or recommendations I'll generally follow are those that I create.    

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I don't understand how a steeplechase could be much of a sport. After all, I've never seen any steeple that could move very fast!   

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When trying to watch football (or basketball or baseball) games on two different channels at once, it's uncanny how often commercials will be running on both channels at the same time.

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Now that that the majority of the American people are against the war in Iraq, those on the far right are dismissing the majority as being "uniformed." However, it's funny how smart the majority was when it favored the war!

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It's funny how aging affects people differently. It makes some people look more distinguished, while it makes others look more extinguished. 

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I'm going to coin a new word: "attituder" (or "tuder" for short). I'll define it as someone who has a great sense of entitlement and will almost always complain when others do not cater to their every whim.

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Whenever I notice that someone doesn't like me (for whatever reason), I begin to do things to purposely grind at them and make them dislike me even more.

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There are certain things I will not do unless they are convenient. The Internet has made many things more convenient, therefore it has opened up a world of new possibilities for me. Writing is a prime example. I never even considered it before the advent of websites and blogs.

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An inherited retirement account is a failed retirement account!

When Torture Should Be Okay

There has been much debate recently over whether the U.S. should be engaging in the torture of enemy combatants and suspected terrorists. I come down on the side with Sen. John McCain, who maintains that the U.S. should not do this, as it would endanger U.S citizens around the world.

But what about torture for those convicted of certain crimes? Many people feel that torturing people as punishment for a crime would violate the Constitution's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. However, doesn't something have to both cruel and unusual to meet this criterion? Yes, torture is cruel and it always will be, but if we used it often enough, it wouldn't be all that unusual.

I believe the following crimes merit certain amounts of torture:

1) Murder.

2) Actual rape (statutory rape and other types of imaginary and contrived forms of rape wouldn't qualify).

3) Theft of physical property or currency, including the crimes of armed robbery, grand or petty larceny, looting, burglary, identity theft, collection of donations under false pretenses, receiving government aid under false pretenses, and embezzlement.

4) Kidnapping.

5) Scamming, fraud, and bunko.

6) Counterfeiting currency.

7) Assault and battery for any other reason than to protect oneself or others from imminent physical harm, or to prevent imminent property theft.

8) Falsely accusing anyone of any of the above.

How Could It Not Be Censorship?

Some people will argue that, since the FCC doesn't physically block any broadcast (it fines TV and radio broadcasters for indecency after the fact), it does not practice censorship. It doesn't? How could it not be censorship? Whether or not you agree with what the FCC is commissioned to do by Congress, it should be clear that it is indeed censorship.

Here's an illustration. Let's suppose an armed man broke into your house and pointed a gun at you. Now let's suppose he drew a line on the floor and then said he would not physically stop you from crossing that line. However, he also says he will shoot you after you cross it. Now, would you consider his actions to be coercion? You're darn right you would. To say that the FCC's actions do not constitute censorship would be tantamount to saying that the armed man's actions from this example do not constitute coercion!

Classic Rants and Raves #32

Being a fundamentalist means never having to admit being wrong.      

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The older I get, the less crap I'm willing to take off of anyone.   

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I've always thought it was ironic that those who serve in the military protecting our freedom aren't afforded as much freedom as we are.

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Question for Pat Robertson: If God caused Ariel Sharon to have a stroke because he was "dividing God's land", when is Osama Bin Laden going to have his stroke for all of his acts of terrorism?  Or is he going to have a heart attack instead?   

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Never ask God for patience or courage.

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I've come to the conclusion that most celebrities are mentally ill. What I can't figure out though is whether they are mentally ill before becoming celebrities or get that way after achieving celebrity status.

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Is there a bigger bunch of spineless cowards than the folks who control the programming on basic cable in the United States?

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Ease, comfort, pleasure, convenience, and safety should be everyone's birth right. Unfortunately, that's just not the case in reality.

Do They Really Care About the Sanctity of Marriage?

While I'm one of those who believes that gay marriages shouldn't be recognized or sanctioned by the state, I don't buy into the rationale that some of the people on my side of this issue use as justification for such a restriction. My reason for opposing gay marriage has to do with not wanting the state to validate any unnatural union such as two men, two women, a brother and a sister, a father and a daughter, a man and two women, a woman and two men, a man and a little boy, a woman and a little girl, a man and dog, a woman and a horse, and so on. However, others will claim that gay marriages should be forbidden in order protect the "sanctity of marriage." However, that claim rings hollow to me.

Here's the problem: If they were truly concerned about protecting the sanctity of marriage, there would several other things they would be pushing for as well.  First, they would be in favor of denying a marriage license to anyone who has had three divorces. Second, they would want to ban quickie, Las Vegas-style weddings in favor of requiring a uniform waiting period of at least a month. Third, they would favor requiring a test to determine whether two people were actually in love before allowing them to marry. Hey, you have to take a test to get a driver's license; why not a test to get a marriage license? After all, isn't marriage more sacrosanct than driving? However, you won't find the folks who talk about the sanctity of marriage touting any of these regulations. Hypocrisy abounds!

The Proper Treatment for False Accusers

I've always believed that those who knowingly make false criminal accusations against someone else should get the penalty that the person whom they accused would have gotten, if convicted.

For example, in my local area, a county supervisor (who has been a model citizen with no criminal record) is being accused of sexual battery and object penetration by his 16-year-old stepdaughter, who does not live with him and his wife. If convicted, this man could receive 20 years to life in prison and be forced to register as a sex offender. Interestingly enough, his wife , the girl's mother, sides with him against her daughter. That tells me that there could be something fishy about these charges. However, I will reserve judgment for now and wait to see how the case plays out in court.

Anyway, getting back to my original point, if that girl's charges are proved to be intentionally false, she should get 20 years to life in prison and have to register as a sex offender. To me, that would be the only fair and just punishment for her.

Calling My Brain!

While writing a recent column, my brain wasn't communicating with my fingers. I mistakenly wrote that South Korea was a "communist threat to the world." Obviously, I meant North Korea. Now I know how Gerald Ford felt during that presidential debate with Jimmy Carter in 1976 in which he asserted that Eastern Europe was not under Soviet domination. :-) Actually it was and remained so for another 13 years.

Classic Rants and Raves #31

I was born pre-programmed to avoid pain, danger, trouble, inconvenience, and heartache at all costs. So far, there has not been one glitch found in that programming!      

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I can't imagine living in any other time than the one in which we live. Some people say they would like to have lived in the 17th or 18th centuries. Not me. I can't imagine living in a primitive time without our modern comforts and conveniences, especially our medicine and anesthesia.   

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The Monday edition of any newspaper is usually the sorriest one of the week.

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Murphy's second law of laundry: Any item of clothing put into a dryer by itself will not dry!

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It is a good thing to be a compassionate and loving person. However, please be aware that there is a downside: All kinds of losers, misfits, and oddballs attach themselves to compassionate and loving people.   

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Anyone who would dare mess with a cancer survivor should consider this: Those people have beaten something that has killed millions of people. How many people have you killed?

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Those who constantly refer to religion as "religion" usually aren't very religious.

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No one is more motivated than someone who has something to prove about his or her capabilities.

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What's good for your health is automatically good for your soul.

For Ohio and Texas: Waiting Paid Off

As late as summer of last year, both Ohio and Texas considered moving their primaries up to Super Tuesday. Now they are so glad they didn't. During this nominating season, only Iowa and New Hampshire (and possibly South Carolina) will have more time and money lavished on them by the candidates of both parties. Democrats Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton will likely shoot their wads on those two states, knowing that a good performance will almost guarantee an instant replenishment of their funds. Also, expect Republicans John McCain and Mike Huckabee to spend most of their time and money on those two states over the next two weeks as well, despite the fact that it is now a foregone conclusion that McCain will be the nominee.

None of the Super Tuesday states -- not even California and New York -- could attract this kind of attention, due to competition with 20+ other other states. Ohio and Texas are competing only with each other and the relatively tiny states of Vermont and Rhode Island, which will probably get little or no attention from the candidates.  

Don't Count on Me to Be a Crusader

I would never want to let a personal tragedy, illness, or setback become the primary focus of my life. For example, a parent who loses a child to a drunk driver might become a crusader against drunk driving. For those who want to do that, more power to them, but that's not something I would want to do.

Personally, I think it's best to deal with the situation and move on. I'm a cancer survivor, but I rarely ever mention that fact because it's not what I want to be known for and I don't want it to set the agenda for my life. Instead, I prefer that my personal agenda be driven by something of my own choosing, not by some kind of happenstance.