General Grumpiness for Friday

One of the nice things about being a grumpy blogger is that there's never any shortage of things to grumpily blog about. As long as the world is filled with people with the IQ of an anvil, the material will come in faster than I can comment on it. To wit:

Part 1: Thank you, Fairfax Connector! Yesterday morning I called our bus service's information line to see if my bus would be running through our neighborhood after our snow and ice storm. I was assured that service was back to normal. After spending 20 minutes at my stop, gradually losing contact with my ears and feet, I walked the half-mile to the shopping center, where I waited another 20 minutes for the bus...which, of course, was running on its "snow emergency route." At least I was only a half-hour late for work.

Part 2: Evil Yoga. From Time Magazine comes this article about religious leaders in Indonesia who have issued a fatwa (religious ruling) which allows Muslims to practice yoga only for the purpose of exercise or sport...no meditation or chanting allowed, as these are evil. I wish I had a job that involved sitting around all day dreaming up off-the-wall things to forbid people to do. But no, then I'd have to register as a Republican, and I can't do that.

Part 3: How much drivel can you pack into one post? One of my co-workers is fond of sending me things he knows will spin me up like a top. Yesterday, he sent me a link to this article: My Predictions for the Obama "Presidency," with the leading comment, "Bilbo, don't read this if your blood pressure is on the high side today." Well, my blood pressure may not have been high before, but it's sure high now. I haven't read such a collection of mindless, partisan, idiotic tripe in a long time. In a comment posted with the article, the author writes: "The article is not intended to “fire up the base,” nor is it an affirmation of Republican ideals or talking points. I am not a Republican, nor am I a fan of George W. Bush. I am simply an independent conservative who has done an incredible amount of research, and interviewed a great number of people with information that backs up the points I have made." Um...right. There are a lot of stupid people on both the far left and the far right. 'Nuff said.

Part 4: Some really good commentary on the economic stimulus. For a good summary of the good and bad points of President Obama's economic stimulus package, take a few minutes to read this post by Michael Sean Winters on the issue from the Catholic blog In All Things: Bad Reasons (& Good) To Oppose the Stimulus. Is there anybody out there on either side of the aisle who understands the concept of "compromise?" Andrea, if no one else, may remember these lyrics from the old song "Shades of Gray" by The Monkees:

"It was easy then to tell truth from lies,
selling out from compromise."

It appears that many in Congress are no longer able to make these distinctions.

And finally, speaking of Congress...

Part 5: Your Congress at Work. The nation may be faced with many terrible economic problems, but at least you can be sure that your elected reprehensives are facing them with decisive action. Like this important piece of legislation - H.R. 414: The Camera Phone Predator Alert Act - which would require mobile phones containing digital cameras to make a sound when a photograph is taken. Is this a worthwhile piece of legislation? Perhaps. Could it have waited until, say, Congress figures out how to stop the economy from bleeding jobs? For sure. Thank you, Representative King. Glad to see you have your priorities right.

That's all for today. Time to bring my blood pressure back down. Tonight I can go dancing, and tomorrow is Cartoon Saturday. Those will help.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo