Things that get my goat
English changes all the time. Our standard pronoun structure has served us well, but it does have weaknesses. It’s time that we fill the gap of not having a non-gendered pronoun. Whether in academic writing, or just because we want to be inclusively generic, ey/em/eir fit the bill easily.
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I’m really annoyed with two out of our three primary delivery services when it comes to packages. This is up from the one delivery service I’ve had a problem with since moving to New Mexico. Back then, I had more options, but absent Airborne Express, DHL, and some niche carriers, I’m now left with the big three: FedEx (Federal Express), UPS (United Parcel Service), and the USPS (United States Postal Service). The two carriers that don’t happen to have FedEx as their name irk me more often than not.
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My recent entry: President Obama, Give Us a Yard and We’ll Take a Meter has generated a fair amount of email (thank you, by the way). Among the comments were concerns about various aspects of doing the conversion, specifically about all that math to go from one system to another. Then there were comments about the realities of conversion. Let me try to address both of those items.
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For all intents and purposes, the United States stands alone in relying on an inefficient and antiquated measurement system. For decades the cry has been that it will be too expensive or too inconvenient or too confusing to change to the worldwide metric standard. With the current economy in dire straits, can we really afford this ridiculous policy? Not only does it makes us look like provincial boobs, but (and this will get people’s attention) it costs us money. If ever there was a golden time to attack the problem with a bold mandate for change, this is it.
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Super Bowl. Football. Commercials. The Boss. More Commercials. Trophy. Worth it? Maybe. The Winner? You know, that’s the question, isn’t it? Why do we watch this circus every year, awarding it the highest television rating? Is it just about the game with the funny-shaped ball?
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President Obama inherited on big ol’ pile of poo. Not only did his poopy-headed predecessor aid in constructing a culture of criminal greed, but the very fabric of our economic cloth was shown to have become something akin to tissue paper. There are some industries that, I believe, should be looked at seriously as targets for some major, if not innovative, re-think.
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It’s amazing. President Barak Obama didn’t even last his first week before one of his boneheaded policy desires started fast-tracking through Congress. Though seemingly innocuous to some, the push to delay the digital television transition is capricious and ill-advised.
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It’s hard to find good help. Ever since I was seated as Emperor Overlord of the United States, I’ve been trying to upgrade my middle-management team. The new hires are now settling into their jobs, so here are a few suggestions to get them started:
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In 2008, when it was announced that Verizon wanted to gobble up hot rival Alltel, I fervently hoped the FCC would reject it. Because of the timing being under the watch of the lesser Bush, I knew it was likely that it would be approved. It has, so I find myself shaded by a cloud of dread.
Read more...It’s a little known fact that in the United States, the vast cabal that actually makes the decisions often will confer with the Emperor Overlord as to the best way to conduct the affairs of the nation, both large and small. As I was fortunate to find myself in a position to be of use, I thought I’d mention a few things that I’d like to see tended to.
Read more...I was talking to my brother about how the Black and Latino communities in California scuttled the gay marriage issue with Proposition 8. While we were discussing the you-scratch-my-back-I’ll-stab-yours aspects of this dirty business, he proposed this: remove marriage from being a government consideration for everyone.
Read more...I just read an article about how both the Congress and the Bush Administration (with the blessing of Fed Chair Bernake) want to issue another “stimulus package” to strengthened the economy still reeling from the credit crisis that, it was said, required $700 billion to avoid collapse. Let’s make this simple: it’s a bad idea.
First—and this is key—our political
Read more...Does John McCain understand at all that by trying to taint Barack Obama by using references to Herbert Hoover he’s accomplishing absolutely nothing? I’m older than Obama (just), I love American History, and even I know almostbupkis about the
Read more...Slowly, ever so slowly (well, quicker in the past seven years, but mostly it’s slowly), the office of the president has become less executive and more strongman. Congress needs to grow a pair and get some of its constitutional power back.
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As with the weather, many people complain about the state of education but don’t really offer up suggestions for changing it. Here’s one proposal to overhaul the current system.
Read more...Now that we have a bailout package, we need to turn our attention to those being most directly affected by the financial meltdown: the people living with risky mortgages. Here are some suggestions.
Read more...It makes no sense that a TV show and a movie of the same franchise should have budgets so grossly out of whack.
Read more...As we head into the last month of the latest of the never-ending condition that is the American election process, there are a few things I want to get off my chest.
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