Monday moaning and uncertainty

Edited for comments: Finally, Shallow Thoughts has found something here that irritates him enough to bring him out of his shell of reticence. One of my few goals in life has been attained. Thank you, Shallow, and come back any time.

For those wondering what it looked like, this is a picture of American fear: a section of the border fence being erected in Arizona to keep the Mexicans out. Way to go, Arizona !

I don't know if somewhere along the way I stopped speaking English, or if the meaning of words changed over the years. When I was younger, the terms STAR and HERO were used to describe people who had accomplished something unique or special that set them apart from everyone else. A hero had performed an uncommon act of courage or bravery, and a star was the prominent gifted performer who everyone was buying tickets to see. Stars and heroes were relatively rare. These days, anyone who gets in front of a camera is referred to as a star, and anyone who wears a uniform is referred to as a hero. To me, both terms have been devalued, or maybe I didn't understand them to begin with.

In USA Today there's an article about a recent Gallup poll showing 13 percent of Americans think the economy is improving, compared with 78 percent who think it's getting worse and 6 percent who think there's been no change. You may've noticed that only adds up to 97 percent; there's the usual three percent who have no opinion. I'm not sure why virtually every poll typically shows 3 percent in the undecided category. How oblivious do you have to be to have no opinion whatsoever on any issue so newsworthy they're taking polls on it (e.g., the economy, presidential elections, gasoline prices, Bush's job performance, O.J. Simpson, Princess Di, and so on) ? It's not a test: they're not asking for your knowledge of the subject, just your freakin' opinion. Make something up, for God's sake. Someone once said that opinions are like a-holes; everybody has one. I guess that's another untrue generalization.

Americans are always bragging about how the nation was established on a foundation of Christian principles, so please explain to me why the worst predatory lending practices target those least able to afford them. Was that what Jesus did ?

Lloyd Carr announced he's retiring as head football coach at Michigan. Just what A&M needs-another high profile program looking for a super prospect in a market that doesn't have too many.

It seems like the 2008 election is becoming all Hillary all the time. For months, she's been sucking up oxygen on the Dem side, and now the Repubs are trying to position themselves as "the one who can beat Hillary." I don't know about you, but I'm getting bored with it.