Buh-bye, "conscience rule"

It seems nearly certain that the Obama Administration will repeal the "conscience rule," and it should come as no surprise to my gentle reader that my reaction was, "Yee-esssssss!" May it be a little balm for troubled ghost of George Orwell, whose spirit must have been restless these past eight years.

I've blogged about this subject previously, so I won't add more flogger stripes to the equine carcass. I can only proffer my fervent prayer to whatever Political Gods may be listening that the example of steady, competent adults in the Executive Branch will begin the process of American De-weinification. I don't expect a complete rollback, but a palpable decrease in the denialist, anti-intellectual, whiny, me-too, finger-pointing, magical-thinking, lazy, paparazzi culture would be a huge, HUGE improvement.

Memo to American Culture: Just because you believe it doesn't make it true. Just because you wish for it doesn't mean you deserve to have it happen. Just because you've convinced yourself that you're "good" doesn't mean you are. See, there's this flip side to your Mom telling you that you're special. So did everybody else's Mom. And the Moms were all correct. And you need to grok the ramifications of that.

Now put down the Cheezey-Poofs, grab some challenging non-fiction and get that over-indulged @$$ on the StairMaster. You've got eight years to make up for, America.

Awesome send-up

Gotta find me some more Keith Blanchard after this: Attention K-Mart Shoppers: Could America's Throwaway Holiday Crap Industry Be Next To Fail?

Actually, just did. Mind you, I'll admit that it's tough to square that attitude with Blanchard being a co-founder of Maxim, which just feeds double-bacon cheeseburgers the entitlement mentality of the American male. (A contradiction not unlike someone working at a weight club and a fast food joint.) Sharp, funny writing, though. Today, that's enough for my mood.

Whimper

New York Times slideshow of the Venetian Carnevale. Somebody get me a bellini.