How Long, O Lord?

will we have to suffer this smirking, contemptously arrogant and clueless man?

“…Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are

left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged…”

Watching the debate tonight was a little like watching a bullfight. You know damn well who’s smarter, better prepared, more rational, but the bull is a force to be rekoned with. There’s something to be said for wildness, tenacity … and horns.

There was one defining moment for me, when I know without a doubt that Mr. Bush must not be returned to office for another term. He was asked to address the loss of jobs to overseas outsourcing, and countered that he’d prepare us for jobs in the 21st century by helping us with some education. Thus implying that we’ve lost our jobs to better-educated folks in India.

We’re losing our jobs — I’ve lost my job — because labor is cheaper overseas, not because we’re uneducated. Because the floor fell out of high tech and Intel cut back on buying process equipment, Cisco is selling fewer routers, etc. etc. Our highly educated people are losing their jobs. And we’ll thank you to stick your community college courses in your saddlebags, cowboy.

Look, he’s had four years he neither won nor earned. Nothing is better. We aren’t sucessful; if this were a company, not a country, no one could call it profitable. If Bush were CEO, he’d have been fired long ago. Business is business.

Madison WIS Pharmacist Case

Hearing concludes in Madison in pharmacist case

This blog honors and celebrates the free expression of moral belief and religious conviction. I believe that no citizen should be bound by law or terms of employment to perform an act which contradicts transcendent, categorical imperative.

That being said, this pharmacist was kind of an asshole, don’t you think? It was one thing to decline to fill this woman’s contraceptive presciption, another thing entirely to seize it so she couldn’t get it filled elsewhere. The imperative was his, not hers; she’s not bound by his beliefs, any more than he by hers.

I think he deserves to have his licensed pulled: By trying to keep his hands morally clean, he dirtied them when he denied another the obverse freedom of belief and choice he claimed for himself.

Break Out the Bull and Bran Muffins!

Did you watch any of the VP debate last night? I watched parts of it, live and in varous re-broadcasts. I wasn’t impressed. Neither man projected much gravitas, let alone game. They carried the message, but didn’t seem inclined to think on their feet. I expected this from Cheney, but hoped Edwards would prove more graceful. For example, when asked what qualifications he offers, Edwards listed the qualities America wants in a president. Ooh, had that one memorized, didn’t we?

I really wanted to see Edwards show up Cheney for the evil toady of greed that he is, and give the Bush juggernaut a solid kick in the slats. That didn’t happen, and Edwards was obsessed with mentioning John Kerry. He literally couldn’t stop.

I don’t know what it’s going to take to energize this democratic ticket. But if I felt like Kerry and Edwards are acting, I’d start pounding Red Bull and fiber. Lots of fiber.

Active Cultures

I like yogurt. It makes a great snack. Indeed, in my mind it’s better than ice cream … sometimes. Now, I’m a pre-stirred kind of guy. Having to drag that stuff up off the bottom and mix it together is … well, for one thing, it’s not my job; for another, it just never quite mixes right.

How about you?