Is this the continuing saga of my hormonal mid-life? Maybe.
Or maybe it’s just a little ol’ test.
I think too much…
I spent the entire drive home contemplating naming residential developments.
I know, weird. It started when I saw the sign for Poplar Falls. Not only are there no poplars in an area infested with Bradford Pears, but there are no falls. Unless you count the drainage pipe that feeds the water retention pond.
So that got me to thinking: who gets to name the residential developments?
Is there some random name generator like my superhero name: Radioactive Midget (um, really, I’m not short).
Or my Mafia name: Jimmy “the Hips” Costello (I’m a little suspicious here–can they see me?).
On second thought, now it totally makes sense. I passed Falls with no falls, Springs with no springs, a Bluff with no cliffs, and of course, my favorite, Woods, with no trees.
These developers have no moral compass. It starts with a little neighborhood with a fancy name, and before you know it, we have universal healthcare.
Newspeak
If you haven’t read 1984, now is a good time to read it. On second thought, before November 4, 2008 would have been better timing. As they say, timing is everything, and we missed that boat, if you’ll pardon the mixed metaphor.
It seems that our Secretary of Homeland Security is on the one hand terrified of using the word terrorist when speaking about TERRORISTS…
Instead of referring to threats from terrorists, Janet Napolitano is referring in her speeches to “man-caused disasters.” In an interview, a reporter for Germany’s Spiegel Online asked Napolitano whether her avoidance of the term terrorism means that “Islamist terrorism suddenly no longer pose[es] a threat to your country?”
“Of course it does,” Napolitano replied. “I presume there is always a threat from terrorism. In my speech, although I did not use the word ‘terrorism,’ I referred to ‘man-caused’ disasters. That is perhaps only a nuance, but it demonstrates that we want to move away from the politics of fear toward a policy of being prepared for all risks that can occur.”
By this logic, the FBI should refer to serial killers and serial rapists as “man-caused afflictions.” After all, we do not want to create fear about serial killers.
…and on the other hand not at all shy about referring to conservatives as TERRORISTS-waiting-to-happen. I suppose my husband is suspect, since he’s been terrifying our children’s friends for years. It’s not the six foot three frame, the gruff demeanor, nor the booming bass that offends. Nope. It’s the service ribbon he wore so proudly on his Army uniform. That’s right. He’s a veteran. That qualifies him as a potential threat to the very country he served.
Astoundingly, as a Pro-Life Catholic, I seem to be a TERRORIST, too.
Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.
I think it’s time to watch my copy of It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.
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