Posted by Loose items from a tight-leaf notebook:
- How convenient for the War on Drugs industry that the Secret Service prostitution foul-up occurred just as President Obama was visiting Colombia to talk about alternatives to the current drug war. Yes, it’s important to find out if possible information leaks could have put the President in danger but in the main, I don’t care if they decided to buy a couple hookers. It’s important for the US to own up to the colossal failure of the War on Drugs and find alternatives to criminalizing something that is no more harmless than smoking tobacco. But good luck getting the media (left or right) to talk about changing the terms of the drug war when there’s a salty sex story to report. [/peeing into the wind]
- The Big Bang Theory is one of my favorite sitcoms on television but I find it disappointing that the back-stories of 3 of the 4 male characters are devoid of any positive fatherly influences. Wolowitz’s father abandoned the family when he was little. Sheldon’s father died from Crisco-heavy fried chicken and is usually described as having been dumb as a sack. Leonard’s father is never mentioned except when his mother announces she’s divorcing him. The fact that their marriage was largely sex-less and probably devoid of affection and warmth is not surprising. Only Raj’s father features positively.
- Let’s take a look at another sitcom – Scrubs. JD’s father is a bumbling, unsuccessful, traveling salesman-boy. In contrast, he describes his mother as perfect. Turk’s father is never mentioned; perhaps he died early, we never know. Did he ever exist? And Dr. Cox’s father was a physically-abusive alcoholic.
- Speaking of culture wars, when will the liberal intelligentsia learn that criticizing traditional families is a failed political strategy? This happens every frickin’ election cycle. Most non-elite liberals hate this sentiment anyway. Many of our mothers were stay-at-home moms; heck, many of us have friends who are stay-at-home mothers. Let them be.
- While the job of stay-at-home mom is most certainly difficult, the contention that Anne Romney hasn’t necessarily had to do much budgeting or saving and scrimping is not without merit. How that experience affects their marriage and how it informs his worldview and approach to social policy is worth considering.
- It’s certainly not a bad thing to learn about the positives that stay-at-home-making can have on the character of a family nor does it mean making a negative judgment on those families where both parents work. Take a little lesson from each family structure.
