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This is a rough draft of my Rants for the week of September 2, 2007

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1. September 2, 2007 Rants

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http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/06/13/145217

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http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/28/ap4059405.html

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1. Last week I ran into Billy Anderson up at the Greyhound bus station in Rockland. Billy said that one day he was walking around wearing a t-shirt that said Harvard on it. Someone said, “Billy, did you go to Harvard?” And Billy said, “No, I went to a lawn sale.”

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_DeLay

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By Jonathan Alter Newsweek

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Oct. 10, 2005 issue - A decade ago, I paid a call on Tom DeLay in his ornate office in the Capitol. I had heard a rumor about him that I figured could not possibly be true. The rumor was that after the GOP took control of the House that year, DeLay had begun keeping a little black book with the names of Washington lobbyists who wanted to come see him. If the lobbyists were not Republicans and contributors to his power base, they didn't get into "the people's House." DeLay not only confirmed the story, he showed me the book. His time was limited, DeLay explained with a genial smile. Why should he open his door to people who were not on the team? Thus began what historians will regard as the single most corrupt decade in the long and colorful history of the House of Representatives. Come on, you say. How about all those years when congressmen accepted cash in the House chamber and then staggered onto the floor drunk? Yes, special interests have bought off members of Congress at least since Daniel Webster took his seat while on the payroll of a bank. And yes, Congress over the years has seen dozens of sex scandals and dozens of members brought low by financial improprieties. But never before has the leadership of the House been hijacked by a small band of extremists bent on building a ruthless shakedown machine, lining the pockets of their richest constituents and rolling back popular protections for ordinary people. These folks borrow like banana republics and spend like Tip O'Neill on speed.

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2. On the morning news you often see two people articulating different opinions. There is always a moderator or host who asks these two people questions. And there is a lesson to be learned when you watch these two people answer the questions. When you hear one of the two people constantly speak out of turn --- that is, constantly interrupt the person who has the floor, and when you hear the person doing the interrupting constantly using the words “stupid” and “dumb” doesn’t it really tell you all you need to know about the issue?

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3. I don’t very often talk about political parties on this program because I know very little about politics. And if I ever came right out and said anything, 19 percent of my friends listening would be upset. But so many politicians have been interviewed on the news over the past six months that it is difficult not to come up with one or two generalizations about politicians. The next time you see any politician being interviewed for any reason in any situation by any reporter or news anchor, I want you to notice one thing and then tell me if I’m not right. The politicians who squirm and writhe and do everything they can to avoid answering the questions --- all belong to the same political party.

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4. You have heard that the press is biased and recent observations support this thesis. My example will be taken from the news and opinion shows I’ve seen lately on television. Suppose you want to question two people on either side of an issue. You want your side to look good and your opponent to look bad. For the side that you want to look good, you line up an articulate, polite, thoughtful, well-spoken person. For the side that you want to look bad, you recruit someone famous for ignorance who bristles with blatant arrogance. Put the camera on them and: #1. You’ve made your argument. And #2. you’ve inadvertently proven that the press is biased.

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5. While coming home from town I saw a very scary thing. A tiny red car with New Jersey plates on it suddenly swerved right onto the 3 foot breakdown lane and looked as if it was going off the road. I slowed down and got way behind it. I tooted my horn, thinking that someone might have fallen asleep. Going down over the next hill the little red car very closely shaved someone riding a bicycle. I thought it was going to hit the bicycle. And now, when I think of it, earlier that day there was a bit of road construction on the way to town. A man was standing by the side of the road with a sign that said, “Slow.” And the old man in the car ahead of me stopped at the slow sign. The highway man with the slow sign waved at the driver. He waved frantically. And he finally got the old man up and going and away. Later, in a double lane road, I got abeam of that last car to see who was driving it. So I know that it was an old man. I don’t know who or what was driving the little red car that almost hit the bicycle because the driver’s head was hidden behind the headrest.

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6. Today, within an hour, I saw two people driving automobiles who should not have been driving. It is my suspicion that they were too old to drive. Do I often wonder if I am too old to drive? Yes I do. I know that at 71 years of age I am too old to drive at night. I know that I absolutely should not be driving at night if it is raining. We hear 50 and 60 year old children who tell us that their father or their mother in their 80s or 90s should not be driving. But do you have to wait until your father has wrecked his car and perhaps killed someone before you finally kindly snatch the keys out of his hand? Of course, if ever since you were a little kid you’ve been watching your father drive after having six or eight beers, it will be more difficult for you to determine if and when he ever becomes senile.

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7. Perhaps it was 20 years ago that I pulled out of my driveway and looked up to see a car right on top of me. I was perhaps a child of 50 at the time. I’ve taught driver education and I’ve taken refresher driving courses for old people. So I know about snapping your head both ways quickly to make sure someone hasn’t appeared on the left horizon while you’re looking right. But I know that 20 years ago I did not see that car coming up on me. I know I just looked and it wasn’t there. And I looked again, and it was there. Right on top of me. Scared the pants off me. You might say that the car was going so fast that it really wasn’t there the last time I looked and that it zipped up on me in the split second it took me to turn my head. But for 20 years I have had the uncomfortable feeling that that car was not speeding and that it was there when I looked, and that because of the color of the car or because of something, I did not see it when I looked. Driving a car is serious business.

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8. How do you tell a loved one, perhaps a parent, that they are too old to drive a car? I don’t know because I’ve never had to do it. But people have told me that they are scared to death because their mother or father is still driving and they don’t know how to stop them. You have probably read that in some countries you can’t drive after you reach a certain age. According to one web page, senior travelers of any age can rent cars most anywhere in Europe. But in Denmark some rental agencies impose a maximum age of 80. Some rental agencies impose a maximum age of 70, and some rental agencies apply an extra fee for travelers age 70 or older; some rental agencies apply a maximum age limit of 69 on some car classes. Rental agencies in three countries ban some senior driving entirely: In Ireland (Republic), some rental agencies apply an extra fee for travelers age 70 or older; travelers over 75 can't rent at all. In Israel, travelers over age 75 can't rent at all, and in Romania, the cut-off age is 70.

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9. Should there be a law that says you can’t drive a car after you’re 70? Or 75? Or 80? Because we are all different, one might hesitate to suggest that age should be the determining factor. You might even tell me that some people are more suited and ready for marriage at the age of 15 than the immature spouse you divorced at the age of 35. By the same token, some people might be better drivers at 80 than your spouse is now at the age of 40 or 50? I can hear you now, “Why didn’t you set the brake in your car?” Or, “How did you ever back into that tree?”

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10. How do you feel about people having to take a driving test every year after they’re 70 and have begun to show a mild flavor of decay? Anyone who could pass the driving test certainly wouldn’t object to it. And when you think of it in those terms, you could expect that a mandatory driving test for everyone over the age of 65 would meet with a wicked amount of opposition.

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11. Yesterday someone sent me an email about casting spells with witchcraft. Today someone sent me an email that says I can learn to hypnotize myself and my peers in minutes. It says, Boost your self esteem and self confidence over the roof and super charge your mental and psychic powers by leaps and bounds. From what I’ve heard and seen over the past 70 years, there are people who think they can do the same thing with a glass of whiskey. I expect to hear from Jack Daniels tomorrow.

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12. My neighbor said that his mother didn’t want hearing aids because she was 99 years old. But then she said that she was feeling pretty good and thought that hearing aids might be a worth while expense after all. And just in case her son wasn’t convinced that hearing aids would be an excellent investment, she said, “They come with a lifetime supply of batteries.”

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