Esoteric Bowl

They have control of the Supreme Court. They hold the power of the White House. They also have the majority of both the House and the Senate. If you’re a republican, life is good. And if you are a republican with selective memory, life is very good.

According to the “liberal media”, things are only getting better for the republicans as Bush/Cheney has the lead in the polls. I have trouble believing those poll numbers, but there’s no doubt that the Kerry/Edwards supporters are the underdogs and victory will be an uphill battle.

Despite being the Underdog, taking back the country is still a real possibility. There are those that might feel the cause is fading, and that a republican victory is inevitable. But this administration knows that it can only win this election by contiuning to divide this nation, and by spreading a false belief that the cause is lost.

While this administration holds all branches of government, and it has the luxury of more money on its side, we the people, we Underdogs, have the power of the masses and the audacity of the truth.

I apologize for all the recent political postings. I never intended for this blog to be used as a political soapbox. Between me, you, and the blogpost, I don’t even care for the whole political process, and politics in general has left a bad taste in my mouth.

Still, I’ve become so outraged and frustrated by what is taking place in this country, and sometimes writing about it here allows me a way to release a little bit of the frustration I am feeling.

This isn’t the first administration that I’ve disagreed with on policy, nor do I think it will be the last. But I’ve learned to accept differences in policy. What is not so easy to accept is the deceitful practices that this administration takes in implementing those policies. Issue after issue, they mislead, misrepresent, and sometimes outright lie about the facts just to implement the policy. If a policy is so right for the people, then why is there a need to lie about it?

There was a time when politicians were referred to as public servants. We don’t hear that phrase very often anymore in describing our politicians. This administration seems to have forgotten that it is us, we the people, that they are supposed to be serving. When the vice president continues to say there was a link between Osama and Saddam, even though the 9/11 Commission found no such link, who is the vice president serving in repeating his mantra? Who is served by having assault weapons on our streets, or in making it illegal for seniors to purchase cheaper medications from Canada?

Rather than being held responsible and accountable for their actions, deception, and failed policies, the administration puts a spin on it all and directs the attention away from themselves.

While the policies of this administration are cause for frustration, and their methods of implementing those policies cause for anger, it’s disheartening to see how half the country is more than willing to accept these policies and this behavior from our government. These fellow citizens are not only quick to look the other way from the transgressions, but they enthusiastically shout out ‘Four more years’ as if the volume of their voices will drown out the truth.

There were more military fatalities in Iraq in August than there were in July. And more fatalities in July than there were in June. And the number of fatalities this summer have already surpassed those of last summer. And the death toll of American military in Iraq has now surpassed 1,000 while the number of U.S. wounded is beyond 7,000.

In July 2003, I cited a quote that there were 10 to 25 attacks on US soldiers and Marines every day in Iraq. The U.S. military counted 2,700 attacks on military personnel last month, averaging 87 per day.

Obviously things aren’t getting better in Iraq, certainly not for the American solider. And while Mr. Bush, Mr. Cheney, and those from this administration insist that we have turned the corner in Iraq, it sure doesn’t seem like it. It seems more like the president has stuck the collective American finger in the levee which is Iraq, and the consequences of keeping the finger there or pulling it out will both result in a flood of more death.

In the meantime, a war that we were told would cost “very little” because of the oil and assets that were held by Iraq, has now cost the American taxpayer somewhere in the neighborhood of $200 billion, with expected requests for more money following the November election.

In the meantime, no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq. Yet the Bush administration just changes it’s rational for the invasion as if no one remembers all that they have said in the recent past. And rather than discuss the problems, solutions, and our direction at a time when more of the electorate is actually listening, they choose instead to provide vague generalities and slap themselves on the back for a job well done.

Have you happen to see Things I Hate About You? No, it’s not a laundry list about Dubya Bush. Rather it’s television show about loving couples who document the annoying habits of their significant other to prove who is more irritating.

Video cameras are placed in the happy couples home and car, where three behaviors that annoy the other are captured as evidence. The video evidence is then presented to a three member panel which scores each behavior based on its degree of annoyance. The scores are added up and the most annoying person is then required to grant a wish of their partner.

Most of the behaviors aren’t really that severe, although road rage can be rather dangerous and scary. Some of the behaviors are just matters of individual personality, while other behaviors seem to be more about control issues within the marriage. And then there are those few behaviors that are just plain disgusting, like the man that had the nasty of habit of wiping his snot on himself, the furniture, and his wife.

Although the three member panel includes a Relationship Advisor, the show is kept light with doses of humor from host Mo Rocca. To the credit of the couples, they all seem to have the ability to laugh at themselves and each other.

While Things I Hate About You is geared to entertain, it does provide a unique glimpse into the psychology of modern relationships. It’s also interesting to see how much crap someone is willing to put up with from their other half. In watching the show, one can’t help to consider their own potential annoying behaviors, and to think about certain behaviors of others in relationships past and present that were found to be annoying.

What one behavior of a significant other did you find to be annoying?