Often certain questions nag at me. They don't surround any one topic. The only through-line for them is I don't know the answer.
Why is it a faux pas to wear the shirt of the band you are going to see, but an expectation that you wear the shirt of the team you are going to see?
Why is it that if something is hard there are those that think we weren't meant to do it? (IE: Fidelity in marriage, purity in life, unexpected pregnancy, etc)
Why can't we have some event designed for the weekend between Championship Sunday and the Super Bowl? That's got to be the most boring two weeks in the sports world!
Why won't the government offset the cost of the Digital converter box for analog TVs if you don't subscribe to cable or a dish network? The very time you don't need it!
Why is it not considered "racist" that 96% of African Americans voted for President Obama?
Why is it that toddlers never want to go to bed and teenagers never want to get up?
Why do "cutting edge" comedians try to push the envelope like George Carlin's "Seven things you can never say on TV" in an effort to offend, and this is called funny and we should get over it, but say the words "Jesus," "God," or "hell" and this is just offensive and we should keep that to ourselves?
Why did President Clinton hold a press conference on the tarmac before leaving Washington?
Why, when airing a video of Bin Laden, do news outlets insist on putting "Courtesy: Al Jazeera?" Are they really being "Courteous" in allowing us to air their propaganda?
Why does February have to be such a boring sports month?
Why does the local Christian camp plan their high school snow camp weekend for the same weekend as the Super Bowl every year?
Why do retired people think they are the only ones on a fixed income? My paycheck is the same every week, too.
Why isn't there a salary cap in baseball?
Does anyone have an answer for any of these? Or feel free to add your own conundrums!
10 comments:
Why is it not considered "racist" that 96% of African Americans voted for President Obama?
It may not be considered racist in the mainstream media, but sadly the very fact that polls like this exist indicate we still live in a society plagued by racism that permeates so many of our social and political institutions. Perhaps the most telling in this regard is that Barack Obama is being called the first African-American President. He is and always ran his campaign as an American. He just happens to be the son of an African man and a white American woman. So calling him an African-American is not even correct anyway.
It would be like calling my children African-American, which to me is absolutely incorrect. What I would hope is that they would not be labeled "black" or "white" based on the shade of their skin or whether they are seen as too light or too dark, but rather that they would be known for being the individuals they are, who just happen to have been born in America and come from two very different cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
Just my 2(10) cents and my attempt to understand the racial issue in this mixed up country! Peace...
Actually, my understanding is that you can get reimbursed something like $30-50 to get the converter for digital tv. The government is reimbursing people, but you need to find the form somewhere online. : )
2-10. Those are my thoughts exactly. So often the words of Dr. King have been referenced with this election about judging a man by his character, not by the color of his skin, and then we go and declare him the first "African-American" President. True. But is this what we should be focusing on? What about his campaign of hope? Bringing change to America?
I drove the streets of my town yesterday and felt as though there was an entirely different attitude surrounding me now that we had a different President and I don't think it was due to the color of his skin.
Matthew. I found the site and I found the form and it told me I didn't qualify because none of my TVs were hooked up to cable or a dish network.
Marc, regarding your last sentence...my thoughts exactly.
Re: fixed income --- The difference between you and the retired person is the assumption that you are still able to find other work if you need more money, get a raise ever so often and potentially continue to make more and more money over the course of your life. The retired person is aging and no longer making choices that affect their continued income, therefore it is fixed not just from paycheck to paycheck but permanently.
Hhm, that almost sounds like a hopeful notion that anyone who is not retired has limitless possibilities -- wouldn't that be nice?!
As someone who doesn't really believe in optional retirement (I'm choosing not to work vs I physically can't work), an able bodied retired person can get a part time job.
It's exactly what working people do when they don't make enough to make ends meet.
Yes, Marc, but not every retired person remains able-bodied. When I walk into our local Walmart and I see the men and women who are greeters, some of which are literally using walkers, I wonder if they are happy to be outside of their home or wish they didn't have to be working to make ends meet at that point in their life.
Another thought is that some of those able-bodied would-be retirees (and/or retirees) spend a substantial chunk of their retirement life caring for an elderly parent who is still living, but needs more care than what can be afforded through outside serves. Thom's mother is in this situation. She's in her late 60s and definitely able-bodied, but she cares for her mother who is in her late 80s and is only able-bodied and clear-minded... most of the time. Thom's Mom was working until a year ago when she basically lost her job because she was spending too much time trying to take care of her mother ( a couple of mini-strokes, a bad fall, etc.) and it was affecting her work. Now they are both on fixed incomes and trying to afford all different kinds of medical expenses ranging from eye-doctors to dentists to oncologist/dermatologists (for Mom's skin cancers) etc not to mention there cars are old and they barely can afford to get them maintenanced or repaired.
I think that's a FAR cry from my dad who has chosen to remain on a fixed-income --his military pension and spend his retirement relaxing. Apples and Oranges.
So what term would you suggest for those persons who are not really able to be working anymore?
Why is it that everyone in the family get sick at the same time, rather than being reasonable, and taking turns, so the healthy person can take care of the sick one?
Why do I clean the house in preparation for a friend to come over to play with my kids and then not actually invite the parents in to visit until after the visit when the kids have totally trashed the place?! L.
Post a Comment