Friday Five

TGIF and a happy President’s Day weekend:
1. Are you superstitious?
Ayup, I own this one.
2. What extremes have you heard of someone going to in the name of superstition?
Human sacrifice would be right up there.
3. Believer or not, what’s your favorite superstition?
Making a wish when a digital clock shows all the same numerals, like 11:11. Must be a modern superstition, huh?
4. Do you believe in luck? If yes, do you have a lucky number/article of clothing/ritual?
Sure do. I make a wish when I enter a new church, which happens oh, probably not often enough for someone who’s superstitious.
5. Do you believe in astrology? Why or why not?
Nope. From the small amount of training I have in Probability & Statistics, it doesn’t seem possible that 1/12 of the world would have the same events, concerns, shots at romance or the lottery on any given day.

The Boobs of CBS

I’ve been confused by the amount of Victorian era swooning on the part of corporate executives and Bush administration officials alike on the half-time antics at this year’s Super Bowl.
Viacom, the owner of CBS and MTV, can hardly lay claim to good taste or restraint. Flooding the airwaves with misogyny and adolescent sexual fantasies is nothing new. Even the Bible thumpers on Pennsylvania Avenue have shown little interest up to now in reining in giggle, jiggle or wiggle.

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Happy Days Ain’t Here Again

From the Economic Policy Institute:
JobWatch Bulletin, February 6, 2004
www.jobwatch.org
Continued high unemployment and the lack of meaningful job growth made 2003 the worst year for weekly wage growth for the typical worker since 1996 (see EPI Issue Brief Weak Recovery Claims New Victim: Workers’ Wages ). This clearly indicates that the weak labor market is now hurting employed workers as well as those looking for work.

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The Latest Hysteria

How predictable: the Bush administration and the Archdiocese of Boston, the employers of choice for baldfaced liars and child molesters, respectively, are shocked, shocked that the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has said that gay people can get married.
I really don’t get it, folks. I don’t understand how allowing people who have established committed relationships, some involving the raising of children, to be bound by the legal responsibilities of marriage is a bad thing.

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Double Standard – II

By no means am I the only one who is infuriated by the incomprehensible verdict of Assault and Battery in the case of Karen (“I was picked on by my sister-in-law because I’m petite and pretty and she’s jealous”) Robidoux. Karen is the wife of Jacques Robidoux, who was convicted of first degree murder last year in the starvation death of their 10 month old baby, Samuel.
This from the Bristol County District Attorney Paul Walsh, who with his staff has been working on this case for over four years:
“This much is certain: Samuel was systematically starved to death before his first birthday by his father and his mother,” the statement said. “There is a time to temper justice with mercy. In my view, this wasn’t one of them. Individuals are responsible not only to God. Parents have legal responsibilities; feeding your kids is one of them. People have to stop making excuses. Never before in 14 years as district attorney have I been this disturbed by a verdict.”

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