Random Thoughts -- Cranky & Otherwise

Well, gentle bloggers, the Kay has been thinking again. I know, I know -- that's a dangerous thing! However, I'm going to vent anyway and, whether y'all agree or not, I'm going to exercise free speech which may soon be the only right we Americans have left if the food nazis, smoke nazis, alcohol nazis, and all the others who seem to think they can legislate personal choice have their way. Just keep in mind what my dear, departed daddy always told me: "Opinions are like bellybuttons -- everyone has one and everyone is entitled to one."

* The new law in New York banning trans fats is just another example of our government becoming our nanny. Something I decided long ago is that you can't save people from themselves and that legislating morality is a lost cause and I suggest that our representatives in government do the same. I already have a mother who's been guilting me for decades about my bad habits and sins. Someone wiser than I said, "No man’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the Legislature is in session.” This has been attributed to everyone from Thomas Jefferson to Mark Twain and holds truer than ever today. The Constitution was not designed to legislate morality. Yes, the wise men who constructed it allowed for changes but I'm guessing they're rolling in their graves at what we have wrought. What's next? Banning obesity? I'm guessing that it causes more deaths than smoking and drinking ever did. And given the abundance of overweight children I see every day, it's going to get worse before it gets better. Didn't we learn anything from Prohibition? It didn't work and led and fed the rise of organized crime in this country.

* Has anyone else noticed that, back in the 70s, the environmentalists were concerned about "global cooling" and thirty years later, it's "global warming"? Mother Nature doesn't make changes that quickly.

* A trend I've noticed is that parents today think they have to buy everything on their children's Christmas list. When I was growing up and when I was raising my own kids, it was a Wish List. I remember my little sister and I pouring over Sears' Christmas catalog for hours and making long lists of all the things we'd like for Christmas. It was great fun for us -- an exercise in dreaming. The reality was that we received what our folks thought affordable and proper and we didn't care -- we were delighted with our gifts. The gifts that weren't on my list usually turned out to be the ones I loved most -- like my first Nancy Drew books when I was 9! I also remember my son telling me about something on his list that he hadn't been specific about. When I asked him how he knew he was going to receive that item, he said: "Well, it's on my list." I explained that it was a wish list, NOT a shopping list. I don't think it's ever too soon to learn that we don't always get what we want. The bigger lesson comes later: be careful what you want; you might get it.

* The findings of the Iraq Study Group are in and the sound bytes are flying. Yeah, war is hell and we need to get out of there. Since the beginning, it's smacked of another VietNam and many VietNam vets agree so I don't think I'm too far off the mark. Looking at its members, I'm wondering about the members' fitness to serve on that commission. Just as an example, if I wanted an opinion on a legal or Constitutional issue, I'd ask Sandra Day O'Connor in a heartbeat but on war? I don't think so. Bush calling their report "dangerous" tells me that he's going to ignore it. There are no easy answers in war. General William Tecumseh Sherman, a fellow Ohioan, said: "In our Country . . . one class of men makes war and leaves another to fight it out." Why aren't we listening to those who are fighting in Iraq and putting their lives on the line?

* On Black Friday: Call me crazy but there isn't a thing in this world that I want so badly that I would be enticed to camp out in front of Best Buy, Wal-Mart, etc.

* I'm delighted to see that the new hybrids are coming down in price so ordinary mortals can afford them. I never thought I'd see the day when I thought $19,000 a decent price for a new car. I guess it's perspective. It will be a while before the people who need to save money on gas most can afford them, however. They're going to be driving gas guzzlers for a long time.

* Is anyone else tired of the dramas of Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, and Anna Nicole Smith? Trashy behavior should not be validated. Scandal has reached new lows. And, oh yeah, I'm tired of Tom Cruise, too. What really bugs me is that they complain about the press invading their privacy but flaunt their idiocies publicly.

Well, I think I've vented enough! General Sherman also said: "Grant stood by me when I was crazy and I stood by him when he was drunk and now we stand by each other." Thanks for listening and standing by me, my dear, gentle bloggers!

Happy Blogging!

Kay