In a surprising yet hopeful move this week, the Senate and the House of Representatives passed a bill that would force the end of the war in Iraq by a certain deadline. The Senate wants the troops home by March 31, 2008, while the House would like the troops home by September 2008. Of course what is no surprise is the fact that President Bush (actually drop the President, he does not deserve that title) says that he will veto the bills. Instead, Bush wants to waste more money to support this disastrous war without a deadline in mind.
I knew that something good would come out of the Democrats controlling Congress. The difference between the Democrats and the Republicans is that the Democrats want to do what the American people want, which is to end this lousy war sooner rather than later.
You know, I wonder how Bush sleeps at night? Does he feel guilty for costing the lives of so many American troops? No, he probably sleeps peacefully thinking about money and oil. I mean oil is the real reason why we are in Iraq. Then Bush probably thanks God everyday for the connections he has in the state of Florida. I hope he is proud of himself.
I understand that Bush will be stubborn and never allow a bill like this to pass, but I am glad that the Democrats in Congress are sending a very loud message to Bush: There will be a fight. And what a fight it will be. Get your boxing gloves ready Bush.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Driving Miss Daisy Part 2
Just a day after I posted my previous blog about the problem with elderly drivers, I came across an interesting news item. The news article was about elderly drivers and how intersections are the most dangerous for them. It also was about how these drivers cause more accidents because of their slower reactions and their eyesight not being as good as it used to be.
The article’s solution to the problem is to improve intersections to make it easier on the elderly drivers. This is an ok solution I guess. However, I still say once you reach a certain age you should be forced to re-take your driving test.
Improving intersections may be a small solution, but there are elderly people that should not be driving at all. For example, someone with Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease definitely should not be behind the wheel. That is too much of a risk. They need to have someone else drive them around. Not only is this a fact, but also from personal experience of knowing someone really close to me with the disease.
Hopefully, more people will see the importance and seriousness of this.
The article’s solution to the problem is to improve intersections to make it easier on the elderly drivers. This is an ok solution I guess. However, I still say once you reach a certain age you should be forced to re-take your driving test.
Improving intersections may be a small solution, but there are elderly people that should not be driving at all. For example, someone with Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease definitely should not be behind the wheel. That is too much of a risk. They need to have someone else drive them around. Not only is this a fact, but also from personal experience of knowing someone really close to me with the disease.
Hopefully, more people will see the importance and seriousness of this.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Driving Miss Daisy
I hope that this blog does not offend anyone, but something has to be said about the elderly people and their driving. I feel that once you reach a certain age it might not be a good idea to be out there on the road. Let’s face it, some things do not function well or work once you get older. One of them is eyesight or losing the ability to actually know where you are going and remembering the rules of the road.
Living in Arizona, there are many elderly people driving on the freeways and many of them should not be there. They drive way below the speed limit (although it is better than driving like a maniac) and cannot see very well to know where they are going.
Now I am not saying take their driver’s licenses away for good. After all, there are teenagers/young adults that are many times more of a danger on the road because of their aggressive driving. What I am saying, however, is to force senior citizens to re-take their driving test when they reach a certain age. Maybe ages 70-75, or even younger. This way their driving skills can be tested to see if it is safe for them to get behind the wheel.
The state of Arizona driver’s licenses lasts about 40 years. My license does not expire until the year 2045 where I will be in my sixties. Hopefully, the DMV will be smart enough to give me a new test and to check my eyesight.
The less danger on the road the better off we all are.
Living in Arizona, there are many elderly people driving on the freeways and many of them should not be there. They drive way below the speed limit (although it is better than driving like a maniac) and cannot see very well to know where they are going.
Now I am not saying take their driver’s licenses away for good. After all, there are teenagers/young adults that are many times more of a danger on the road because of their aggressive driving. What I am saying, however, is to force senior citizens to re-take their driving test when they reach a certain age. Maybe ages 70-75, or even younger. This way their driving skills can be tested to see if it is safe for them to get behind the wheel.
The state of Arizona driver’s licenses lasts about 40 years. My license does not expire until the year 2045 where I will be in my sixties. Hopefully, the DMV will be smart enough to give me a new test and to check my eyesight.
The less danger on the road the better off we all are.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Celebrity Breakdowns
There is nothing better for a celebrity to make headlines than to have a breakdown in front of everyone.
There are a number of celebrities through the years who have had breakdowns or some people like to call meltdowns. Most recently: Britney Spears. When she drove her car with her baby boy in her lap, I just thought that she needed to take several parenting classes. I already mentioned her lack of undergarments in a previous blog. Now that Britney has decided that she wants to look like Sinead O’Connor minus the good singing voice, I know that there is seriously something wrong there. Luckily, Britney is in rehab receiving help. No word on if she will flee for the third time.
Other celebrity breakdowns include great singers like Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. Who can forget Whitney’s interview with Diane Sawyer about four years ago? Before the interview Whitney had always denied drug abuse despite her odd behavior that said otherwise. She disgustingly looked like a skeleton at a Michael Jackson tribute concert in 2001. Then she delivered that famous line to Sawyer when asked if she ever used crack: “Crack is whack.” Yeah, so was Whitney. It was pretty obvious to me that she was even on something during that interview, but not crack of course.
Mariah Carey decided to do a striptease during her breakdown. She shocked audience members and host Carson Daly when she started stripping on the MTV show Total Request Live in 2001. It was not long after that when Mariah eventually was hospitalized claiming exhaustion. This came during a summer of disappointments for Mariah, including her movie “Glitter.”
We may not want to admit it, but we are glued to the television or newspapers when celebrities have these breakdowns. Why? Because it proves that celebrities do not have the charmed life despite the fame and the money. These stars in reality do not have a better life than us average folks. Celebrities actually have it more difficult because their life is not private. People dream of being a star for a day. However, I am sure famous people dream of being average for one day. It just proves that fame and fortune are not everything; they in fact a lot of times make things worse.
Now Mariah Carey was able to make a comeback. It is too soon to tell whether Britney or Whitney will make comebacks. I would not rush if I were them. They should stay away from the spotlight and live life normally for awhile. Well, at least as normal as possible.
There are a number of celebrities through the years who have had breakdowns or some people like to call meltdowns. Most recently: Britney Spears. When she drove her car with her baby boy in her lap, I just thought that she needed to take several parenting classes. I already mentioned her lack of undergarments in a previous blog. Now that Britney has decided that she wants to look like Sinead O’Connor minus the good singing voice, I know that there is seriously something wrong there. Luckily, Britney is in rehab receiving help. No word on if she will flee for the third time.
Other celebrity breakdowns include great singers like Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. Who can forget Whitney’s interview with Diane Sawyer about four years ago? Before the interview Whitney had always denied drug abuse despite her odd behavior that said otherwise. She disgustingly looked like a skeleton at a Michael Jackson tribute concert in 2001. Then she delivered that famous line to Sawyer when asked if she ever used crack: “Crack is whack.” Yeah, so was Whitney. It was pretty obvious to me that she was even on something during that interview, but not crack of course.
Mariah Carey decided to do a striptease during her breakdown. She shocked audience members and host Carson Daly when she started stripping on the MTV show Total Request Live in 2001. It was not long after that when Mariah eventually was hospitalized claiming exhaustion. This came during a summer of disappointments for Mariah, including her movie “Glitter.”
We may not want to admit it, but we are glued to the television or newspapers when celebrities have these breakdowns. Why? Because it proves that celebrities do not have the charmed life despite the fame and the money. These stars in reality do not have a better life than us average folks. Celebrities actually have it more difficult because their life is not private. People dream of being a star for a day. However, I am sure famous people dream of being average for one day. It just proves that fame and fortune are not everything; they in fact a lot of times make things worse.
Now Mariah Carey was able to make a comeback. It is too soon to tell whether Britney or Whitney will make comebacks. I would not rush if I were them. They should stay away from the spotlight and live life normally for awhile. Well, at least as normal as possible.
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