Shvitz is another one of those great Yiddish words that sounds like what it means. At least, it always has to me. We were cooking at about 80 degrees in the library today, so man, we were shvitzing. (Sweating, so "taking a shvitz" is the same as saying "taking a steam", or going to a steam room.) I'm sure they'll solve this problem "when we move to the new library" (which roughly translates into the Yiddish phrase "When the Messiah comes" or "One day, in Jerusalem", which both translate roughly into the English "Don't hold your breath.") by not providing any heating or air conditioning or windows that open at all. I'll never be able to call maintenance and complain that the equipment's not working because we probably won't even get any equipment. Cost over-runs, you know. Have I mentioned that? It seems that we're going to have make serious cutbacks in the plans for the addition to the high school because the cost of steel has skyrocketed. Why that? Because there's a building boom in China and they're buying up all the American steel they can get, which is driving up the cost of steel here. In other words, we can't build schools here in America because we're shipping all our steel to China. Perphaps it's time for someone to rethink this.
Speaking of, I'm going to present what I hope may be my last political rant of the season. To whit:
1. I wish Bush would stop drawing on 9/11 as if it were some sort of big victory for him. It wasn't a victory for anyone but al-Queda. I know he dealt with it well in the immediate aftermath and he deserves credit for that, but we have no reason to suspect that any president would have done differently, and part of their job description, really, is to handle a crisis like a man. Going after Osama in Afghanistan was kind of a no-brainer; Gore would likely have done the same thing.
If you wanted to look at it from the other side, let's say that America was attacked for the first time since 1941 on Bush's watch. That doesn't make much sense either, because IT IS THE NATURE OF TERRORISM THAT IT IS RANDOM. People are saying that we'll be safer under Bush. How? Why? Because we haven't been attacked since? That's because of being more vigilant (I suppose) and the random nature of terrorism. Making the airports safer is totally locking the barn door after the horse was stolen. If anyone wanted to attack us again, they'd just think of another way. Because it's random, and they're terrorists. They think outside the box, because they don't have boxes.
2. I see absolutely no leadership qualities in President Bush. And no real pre-president leadership experience, either. True, he was governor of a large state for one term, but before that he was essentially a businessman who screwed up everything and got bailed out by daddy. I have heard it said that Edwards has no experience, but he actually has more government experience, and that at the federal level, than Bush did when he was first elected. Oh, wait ...
3. Bush was elected by the Supreme Court, and not by the general voting population. Our system of voting is so seriously messed up that there are really only a few states that elect the president. If I were a Bush supporter in New Jersey, my ballot would count for absolutely nothing. That is just wrong. Our president will be elected by a small majority of voters in Florida, Ohio, or Pennsylvania. It is so time to get rid of the electoral college. Senators were at one time elected by their state legislatures, and not by a direct vote of the people, and the Constitution was amended about 100 years ago to take care of that. Time to amend again. Let's make it a meaningful amendment that actually addresses the needs of the government, eh? And not some social issue? Haven't we already learned that that doesn't work?
4. I have heard many people say that they support Bush because he's the president, we have to support our president, he wouldn't lie to us because he's our president, etc. I want to hear the same people say the same thing if our president is Kerry, or any other Democrat or anyone they don't agree with to begin with. If they're not going to, than they need to stop using that as their argument to support Bush.
5. "Flip-flop" is merely a political expression used by Republicans to attack Democrats. Look back on the last several campaigns. It means nothing. It is normal for a legislator to review new evidence and re-evaluate his stand on an issue; this is also known as CHANGING YOUR MIND. Intelligence and thoughtfulness allow for the mind to change; they also admit errors. First, I want a president who will acknowledge his mistakes; all people make them, and if we believe that the president is some kind of infallible pope, we are very wrong. I believe that admitting one's mistakes shows great strength of character. Second, I do not want a president who does not re-evaluate his decisions when there is new evidence. That is just downright dangerous. That's why, supposedly, we went to Iraq: when evidence showed that there might not be WMD, it was contrary to the position that was already taken and that could not be changed. Poor leadership, if you ask me. And I think that what Bush is criticizing Kerry for is agreeing with him in the first place, because Kerry believed what the president said, and then changing his mind when he found out that the president started a war based on false information. Sounds good to me.
6. Is Kerry the best man we can get for president? No, I don't think so. He's the best of the two men currently available and running for the position. Are we holding him to some kind of absolute standard, because if we are, there's no way Bush can meet that, either. Bush is so many things we criticize in society, yet people are holding him up as some sort of moral standard. I've seen nothing to indicate that Kerry is not as moral as Bush supposedly is. Don't like his wife? Good, you don't have to marry her. As for Mrs. Bush, I'm absolutely appalled that someone who is a teacher herself by training and experience would not have made it clear to him that his No Child Left Behind plan was 100% unworkable bullshit.
7. I don't think Bush is decisive, either. I think he's a front man for a group of very decisive people, and I truly believe that he and the rest of them (or most of the rest of them) are in it for personal profit. Why the hell do people who are that rich need more money? I've never understood that, but I do know it's mostly a power thing. They've got the power, and they'll continue to have it. It appears to be Halliburton that wants to rule the world through finance, and the U.S. government is only a front for that. Speaking of Halliburton ...
8. I can't imagine a scarier potential president than Dick Cheney. He's like a fire and brimstone preacher (I'm thinking "Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God" by the Puritan Jonathan Edwards, name a coincidence.) If he believes what he says, than he is promoting an atmosphere of anger and hatred and fear. If he doesn't believe it and he's just a political hack, than he's even scarier than that. I don't want him a heartbeat away. I'd rather have Dan Quayle, and I'd way rather have John Edwards. He seems harmless enough.
9. If I could pick anyone for president, I'd probably vote for Bill Clinton. (So now you know where I really stand.) I'm way less troubled by him screwing an intern than I am by Bush screwing everybody else.
In conclusion (finally, right?) the political opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone and only mine. If you have some really major issue with me, keep it to yourself, because that's what I do when I read other people's diaries. I don't need no rants in my comments. Everybody gets to have a diary and say whatever the hell you want to on it; that's the deal. A nice comment or two, even in disagreement, well, friends, that's a dialogue, and go right ahead. And don't forget to vote, because even if it doesn't count this time, we've got to keep reminding them that we're here and we really want our votes to count so they should change the system.
Thanks for your time.
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I'm watching Gilmore Girls
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Sweet Sorrow - 06.12.2007
So ... - 12.19.2006
Christmastime Is Near - 12.18.2006
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