The New Divorce Rate in the U.S.

There is so much talk about marriage and divorce in the good ol' USA. The religious right is adamantly against gay marriage and for the dumbest reasons. If we allow to men or two women to marry, it will destroy marriage the way God made it and men will be allowed to marry goats or some such insane dribble. If God made marriage between a man and a woman why is the divorce rate so high? And how in the hell does Adam marrying Steve open the door for Joe Blow to marry Donald Duck? But I digress. There is a much more serious divorce rate in the USA and people don't realize it. It the separation and subsequent divorce of the button and the buttonhole. Sometimes it is the old-fashioned metal or plastic button from a stitched buttonhole. The poor button tries valiantly to hold onto his soul mate but the human belly is a roadblock to the unity of button and buttonhole. The poor button holds on for dear life and sometimes even uses the human lifeline of string or rubber band, only to watch its threads sever one by one until it pops off and is lost forever. The brass button and the denim buttonhole may last a bit longer, but the result is inevitably the same: the cloth can no longer hold onto it's brass lover and it must finally feel the pain of having a lifelong friend and partner ripped from it's grasp. I've suffered through many of these 'divorces" and always swear that I will never again be the third wheel to such a breakup but knowing that I can't make that promise unless I first change my ways. Am I ready? We'll see.

Do Barack and Bill need their tonsils checked?

When I was in grade school, my friend had a habit of interspersing "ummm" between words or sentences. It drove my adopted mother nuts. Mom rarely swore because she believed that those who did had nothing more intelligent to say. Bless her heart...she passed away in 1983. But if she keeps tabs on mortal TV, she must be spinning in her grave! Bill O'Reilly and Barack Obama can't utter a sentence without sounding like a kid with a sore throat at the doctor's office! Ah-h-h! O'Reilly occasionally sticks in the aforementioned "ummm". Martha Stewart sounds like she never rehearses. Or maybe she needs glasses for the teleprompter. Listen sometime and you will hear more "umm's" than English words. Caroline Kennedy got lambasted during her senatorial run for saying like or you know every other word. I watched NYC Prep and found the same lame monologue. It was...like...ridiculous...like...you know? What happened to plain English, proper pronunciation and diction? Don't axe me! Yes, that is another pet peeve of mine and I have black friends who think the same way. Hell, Bill Cosby laments the use of Ebonics! If you want to be perceived as an intelligent individual, you must first speak like such a person. Ah-h-h, are you ...like....listening, Mr. President, Mr. O'Reilly and...ummm...Ms. Stewart?

ENOUGH Already!

I have never been so glad for cable in my life! I've . rediscovered TCM and On Demand. Why? Michael Jackson. Look, I grew up with the Jackson 5. I bought "Ben" on a 45. I loved "Thriller" He was a talented man and his talent will be missed. I miss Elvis but I don't want to hear about him every freakin' day!!! At the very least, Michael was bizarre. From the glove to the masks to wanting to be called Miss Ross. At his very worst he was a danger to himself, his children and the children others entrusted to him. No good father dangles an infant over a balcony. No grown man sleeps with young boys in his bed. It's unacceptable.
Has America become so morbidly obsessed with celebrity that we HAVE to have a segment on Jackson in every show? We lost other celebrities, too. Farrah Fawcett and Karl Malden come to mind. But ET and even Fox News has tunnel vision directed directly at Michael Jackson. Bill O'Reilly was ranting and raving about the state taking the children of the "octomom", and justifiably so. Why is he not on a crusade to have the state take Jackson's kids away from the circus that follows Jackson's death? Michael himself told the world that Joe Jackson was abusive and manipulative. Katherine Jackson allowed that to go on with her kids. Is it a far stretch to believe that Joe will do the same to Paris, Prince Michael and Blanket to further line his own pockets? I hope the dysfunctionality of this family will stop being honored and the children finally get to be normal! Put Michael Jack to rest already! I've heard enough!

The New Invasion of the USA, and not by the British

Before anyone gets me wrong on what I am about to say, let me assure them: I DON'T HATE MESICANS! What I hate is the fact that I was raised in a small town in Maryland and was never offered Spanish as a second language. I could learn French. Big deal. I lived on the southern side of the Mason/Dixon Line! Pennsylvania has acres and acres of fruit trees that draw Mexican migrant workers to them every year. What good would French do me? If I spoke French to any of the workers stocking up on rice and beans in the local grocery they would've thought I was an idiot!
What I hate is that I'm 50, unemployed, in bad health with no medical.dental insurance and I can't get a job at a laundromat less than a block away because I don't speak Spanish. Never mind that the owner is as white as I am. This is freakin' Texas and since I don't speak Spanish, I don't qualify for that low level, minimum wage job!!! And to ad insult to injury, I went to do my laundry today and wanted to cash in 90 cents worth of silver coins and 10 lowly pennies for the drier. The older Hispanic lady who speaks VERY LITTLE ENGLISH, tells me the owner does not allow them to accept pennies. PENNIES!!! Legal "in God we trust" American tender! What does he want? Peso?!!! Give me a break! It's bad enough that I've asked for a packet of salt at the local McDonalds and had another English challenged clerk give me salso! Now American money is no good at a laundromat?!?!?