Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Stop Doing this Shit

Well, we all know he said it. The man representing our country, the president, said "... stop doing this shit."

You know there is no love lost between me and the president - he's not one of my favorite people. So, no doubt, you're expecting me to rip him for this. Well, while it's tempting, I can't say I disagree with his sentiments, and "stop doing this shit" does sum it up nicely. It could be applied to so many war situations, including the ones we've created.

Here I've been trying to put my thoughts together about the whole situation, and I need look no further. What do you know? Bush can speak for me. I never thought it possible.

Frankly, what bothers me much more is that fact that the man cannot stop talking with his mouth full. Good grief, I cannot imagine what family dinners are like if this is how he acts on the world stage - literally - a stage - being watched by the world - it's the freaking world stage by definition. Tacky, tacky, tacky.

Of course, we Americans only got a little bit of the whole story. There were "four minutes of candor" as the International Herald Tribune called it. http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/07/17/news/bush.php

In addition to his use of what they called a "scatological term" ("scatological" is just not a word you get to use often - I'm not missing the opportunity - and neither were they), we also learned of his love for Diet Coke and that he was eager to get home. Not exactly earth-shattering revelations.

However, the part that frightens me the most - while he's on the world stage - is where he's overheard talking to an aide about some upcoming remarks, saying, "I'm just going to make it up, right here. I'm not going to talk too damn long like the rest of them." He adds, "Some of these guys talk too long." Bush unscripted terrifies me.

And, although they don't specify, I'm guessing he had all of those conversations while chomping on his food. Someone - please give the president an etiquette lesson in how to eat. Maybe once he's got that down he can grasp the concept of open microphones.

By the way, who do we need to thank for these revelations - the Russians. Politics is a strange business.

The Morning


I love the early morning hours. Even when it's going to be miserably hot, the early morning is cool and welcoming. I went out for a walk about 6:30, after I'd gotten the dishwasher, washing machine and dryer all going. It was already feeling like it was in the 80s, but it was pleasant enough. I also did a couple of outdoor things that were necessary, and did a little weeding in the front flowerbed.

I picked some of the miniature roses and some assorted greenery to have a little display inside. Do you recognize the "vases?" Yes, they're spice bottles. When I was cleaning out the kitchen cabinets, I had some old flavorings that needed to be tossed out. But I saved the bottles, thinking specifically of using them for miniature roses. I like the look of them. Of course, I may be the only one who does, but since I live alone I guess that's all that matters!

I also picked a white rose and some purple sweet potato vine to go with it. I have it in the kitchen. I have mini yellow roses, I'll have to pick some of those to go in the yellow kitchen. I have another dark purple calla lily blooming from that same plant - it's quite the producer! I have others that are leafy, but only a couple more that are blooming yet. My morning glories have tons of big leaves, but few blooms. I'm hoping I get lots of blooms as time progresses. I'll be disappointed if not. I understand over-fertilizing makes the leaves grow, but not bloom. I hope I haven't done that. I guess time will tell. I do have a few blooms so hopefully I'll get more.

Well, I must get on with the work day. I have a lot I need to accomplish before the board meeting today. I spend the day of board meetings killing lots of trees, printing things. I wish we could go even more to electronic format and stop printing so much. At least we do send meeting notice by email so that halves the amount of paper we print and that's positive. But, it's still a waste and I hate that.