By Stanley P. Gershbeing
I've been at this desk writing my thoughts for a long, long time. Wherever I am, whenever I get a thought that might be interesting, I scribble it on anything that's handy. A post-it note, the back of a business card, a torn envelope…anything. Very often those few words stay where I put them and never find their way into this word processor. I re-discover them when I'm rearranging a desk draw, sending shirts and jackets to the dry-cleaners, and mostly inside postal priority envelopes that seem to be multiplying on the floor in the corner of this room. You and I and just about everyone we know takes an extra priority envelope every time we visit the post office, not to be used for mailing, but to store mail, shopping lists and just about every loose piece of paper in our pockets. Did you know that, while we are asleep, those priority envelopes propagate? Really! Just like the wire hangers in your clothes closets, cardboard Priority Envelopes do whatever it takes and while we're not looking, they give birth to more envelopes.
If what I said is not true, somebody please tell me, how in the world do I have about fifteen piled on the floor?
So today is cleanup-up day and I'm sending a couple of my blue blazers to the cleaners. From the pockets of those blue blazers I'm collecting more of those scribbled notes I wrote to myself.
Here's one from last year that gave me a chuckle. It's untimely but I'll share it with you anyway.
John Kerry insisted that all of the records of Supreme Court nominee, John Roberts, be released. Really? Kerry said that?
We've just redefined Chutzpah.
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You wanna' know why many of us don't like unions? We saw the reasons during the TWU strike. Nobody blames them for wanting more money and more benefits but to be that selfish, thoughtless and uncaring about others fills us with dislike and disgust.
It's no wonder that the popularity and membership of unions all across America is shrinking.
And while we're talking about unions – while he was president of the American Federation Of Teachers, Albert Shanker said, “I'll start representing the kids when the kids start paying dues.”
What do you suppose he meant by that? I think he really meant that according to his organization, the teachers come first. I salute his honesty. We don't get much of that nowadays. What we do get is denial. “He never really said it. It's an urban legend”
Before you sit down to write me another nasty letter, my source for this statement is an education policy analyst at the Cato Institute, Neal McCluskey. Do you think you can properly debate the Cato Institute?
I also expect letters from you telling me all about the importance of unions. Don't bother. I already know. I've been on both sides of the situation. Once upon a time I actually held a union card. I have seen the value of unions. I have also seen the corruption.
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Last month, while being interviewed on Fox News by Chris Wallace, Senate Minority Leader, Harry Reid, stated “2003, New Years Eve in Las Vegas. Hundreds of thousands of people come to Las Vegas. And do you know that those people that came to Las Vegas had their credit cards looked at, they had what rooms they stayed in, what cars they rented.
Now what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas, but not in this instance. It's in some federal data bank. That's what the Patriot Act is doing to the American People.”
He wants us to think that what the government did was so terrible that we must assume the minute he said it, the loony left-wing liberal Bush Bashers that were there ran out into the streets screaming, “OH MY GOD. THEY KNOW I HAVE A VISA CARD. THEY KNOW WHAT CAR I RENTED. THEY KNOW WHAT ROOM I STAYED IN. WHAT TO DO. WHAT TO DO.”
The rest of the country, being perfectly rational, sat there, listened and responded by asking the one word question- “SO????”
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Last July the Edmonton (Canada) city legislature banned smoking in public places. The new law included public buildings, places of employment, restaurants and bars. Can you imagine drinking in a bar without lighting up? That's what several pub owners thought when they attempted to get around the law. They parked old buses nearby and had their patrons believe they were permitted to smoke away. For almost six months government officials and tavern managements argued the legally of these “Butt Buses”. The city finally gave up and is now permitting pub patrons to board the private stationary vehicles for the purposes of smoking. That's great. Now smokers in Edmonton can inhale first hand and second hand smoke at the same time.
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Everybody knows that TV has a lot of influence on us. Last year, for the first time ever, poker chips outsold board games.
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The mainstream media and bloggers all over the net have been doing a wonderful job of blasting the Fox News Channel. “O'Reilly is to far to the right. Hannity interrupts and doesn't let Colmes say what he really want to say.” And on and on.
The most recent cable news numbers are in and Fox is number one with almost twice as many viewers as CNN. MSNBC weighs in at a distant number three with Fox having almost three times as many viewers. It's a good thing that the media and bloggers are doing such a mega-magnificent job. I am StanGershbein@BellSouth.net wondering how far ahead Fox would really be if they didn't.
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