Category: Uncategorized

Portrait of A Thug As A Young Man

Rod Blagojevich, Foreman High School Class of 1975

Yes, here is the Foreman High School class of ’75 photo of that thug-Governor of Illinios, Rod Blagojevich. He really is the worst of the worst of political corruption. Creepy.

I look at this guy’s picture and I can almost hear him say “the Senate seat is a f-ing valuable thing, you just don’t give it away for nothing.”

And what an idiot. Knowing he is under investigation he still can’t keep his mouth shut and spouts this crap over the phone? First-class stupidity or supreme arrogance? Oy! How do we elect such people? Oops! Almost forgot, being smart works against candidates for a part of the electorate.

I hope that Bluto / Blago goes to jail soon.

Posted on by docthink 1

Colin Powell for Secretary of Education

President-elect Obama visits a school in Chicago.

Look at this picture.

What do you see? I see some little kids who are really, really excited to see the next President of the United States. Their fresh, smiling faces are full of hope.

I want each of these kids to read great books and newspapers, make informed decisions, vote and be responsible for themselves and each other. I want them to go to college, to get good jobs and to always be as happy as they look here.

Prez-elect Obama demonstrates that being smart can be cool–book smart is cool, too. He shows that these kids can be true to themselves AND do well in school and that getting an education is not selling-out.

The Prez-elect can bring this message all the way home by appointing former Secretary of State and Chair of the Joint Chiefs Colin Powell as his Secretary of Education.

  1. It would elevate education to a top-tier department by virtue of General Powell’s star power. You take a high-wattage leader and it shines on the entire department.
  2. Powell has been working on youth issues since he founded the America’s Promise Alliance in 1997–including efforts to prevent students dropping out of high-school.
  3. Powell’s pragmatism, commitment to public service and leadership certainly makes sense in an Obama administration.
  4. Powell, too, has a compelling story–a Harlem native who became the first ROTC officer to chair the Joint Chiefs and counselor to four presidents.

Powell gains from this, too.

When he endorsed Obama, Powell said, “I think the American people and the gentlemen running for president will have to, early on, focus on education more than we have seen in the campaign so far.” Being Ed. Secretary lets him put his money where his mouth is. Last, joining the cabinet would aid in rehabilitating Powell’s reputation. To be honest, he’s still dirty from the run up to the Iraq War. A high profile gig at Ed would be a great bookend to his public service.

I saw the picture above, and fell in love with each of those kids. And I want them to have every opportunity to be great people and great Americans. Let’s put a star at Ed.

Posted on by docthink 3

Giving Thanks

boys walking

I have been quite a laggard in postings. My apologies to my loyal reader. As the turkey roasts, I am thinking about the thanks I am giving.

  • I am thankful that the 17-year-old hooked me up with my new favorite band. Great music to prep Thanksgiving Dinner by.
  • I am thankful that the Spouse has cooked dinner pretty much every night since September 15. AND has done the dishes, too.
  • I am thankful that the 14-year-old has introduced me to the FIERCE sport of wrasslin’. Little girls cried during the last meet. Fierce, I tell you.
  • I am thankful for working in the Bush administration. Without those guys, I would have never learned new levels of tolerance–and never loved so many Republicans. Yes, they are people, too.
  • I am thankful that we have good health insurance, didn’t get dumb in the mortgage market, live within our means and have stable jobs. I pray that the new guys–with our help–make changes so that more people can give this set of thanks next year.
  • I am thankful for Facebook. Sounds dumb, but it’s like living in a far-flung dorm–low pressure way to be in the lives of people you care about. (Sibling, get on the stick!)
  • I am thankful that my mother is a fighter. She has been in rehab 3 times over the past year, after a fall, a broken ankle, and then major GI surgery. Each time we worried that she might be too tired to push her 85-year-self through rehab. And each time she proves us wrong.
  • I am thankful that I have the best spouse, kids and dog in the whole wide world. Bar none. No one can dispute this. Don’t even try.

And I am thankful to you, my loyal reader. I write this mostly for me, but am thankful that you take some of your time to think with me.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted on by docthink 1

Three Things

First thing, I am over American Idol. It’s on now. And I really don’t care. Didn’t vote once. Missed a bunch of shows. Don’t care. Boring. [Like another “news” story on how Hillary doesn’t have a shot, but that she still gets coverage like it matters. Ron Paul is still running for the Republican nomination, but he doesn’t get airtime. Must be ageism.]

Second thing, I wish I could be Chef Ramsey sometimes. Number one, he is world class in his profession. Number two, he just lets it go in the kitchen. He calls people donkeys because they are acting like donkeys. He tells them–in a forceful fashion–when they are screwing up. If he is disappointed, people know. And then he recognizes excellence in the next breath. I bet he gets hoarse, sometimes. I sure would like to call the donkeys by their real names, sometimes. And yell, sometimes. [Okay, in the non-reality T.V. world, it’s not always so good to speak your mind. Unless the campaign is all reality T.V. anyway?]

Third thing, [House spoiler] was too sad for me. I am struck by the calm of people who know they are dying. I used to think that it was a TV or movie drama thing–people looking serene, knowing that their time is almost over. But it really is like that. And we really have to let them go. In TV, though, we can go back to an earlier episode, and the ones we cared about are still there. So, I cried.

Posted on by docthink 0

Shard Equations

NOT my ankle

A shard is something that is broken. And I have been beset by a few breaks that have interrupted my Thinkings.

First, my trusty I-Book conked out on me in mid-November.

Lack of equipment = lack of posting

I figured out that I needed to make an appointment to sidle up to the Mac Genius Bar to figure out how to get AC power to the laptop.*

A funny thing happened Sunday morning on the way to the Genius Bar. I was walking downstairs and missed the last step. I landed on the side of my foot, rather than the regular way. Ouch.

So, after 9 hours in the ER I had instructions to keep the cast dry, to come back on Wednesday for a consult for surgery, and to be careful with my handful of meds.

Broken IBook, the culprit!So,

no computer + much distraction with the bad ankle = no postings

We had a great Thanksgiving (I was off the pain meds and was delighted to partake of “the end of the mint Mojitos” that the Spouse served), and I had a successful surgery last Tuesday night.

But the 16-year old says that I’m beginning to have my own Giuliani-type mantra.

The 16-year-old: There’s Giuliani and he’s like “9-11, 9-11, 9-11, blah blah 9-11.”
Me: furrowed brow
The 16-year-old: And there’s like you, “Broken ankle, broken ankle, blah blah, broken ankle”

Doc Think is on hiatus until the I-book gets fixed. Remember

equipment + repaired shards = Thinkings

* For those who think that I didn’t do enough troubleshooting, the power supply (PS) appears to work, as the ring lights up when it’s plugged in. The IBook doesn’t recognize that it’s getting juice, either with or without the battery. The battery died–and power was gone–before I could do the keystroke to reset the power settings. I don’t know anyone with the same connection, so I needed to at least check another PS.

(c) 2005-2016 Doctor of Thinkology. Some rights reserved under Creative Commons License.
Posted on by docthink 1

Why Couldn’t The Pirate See the Movie?

Because it was rated “arrrrrr”.

Who would make a movie out of a frickin’ ride? It was simply too stupid a premise for me.

I remember watching the Wonderful World of Disney when I was little. Sometimes Disney would dedicate an entire show to one of their entertainment rides. The Hall of Presidents, It’s a Small World, the Tiki Room, and, of course, Pirates of the Caribbean.

When I went to Disney World in the mid-80’s we suffered through a ride that was way past its prime. So why, oh why, would someone think that you could make a movie out of a plotless, plodding, pointless pretense of play?

So, I was wrong. Loved the movie the first. Loved the movie the second and sat through the movie the third trailer in Russian.* I don’t know what they are saying, but it looks like a blast!

* Available to all in English on Monday night.

(c) 2005-2016 Doctor of Thinkology. Some rights reserved under Creative Commons License.
Posted on by docthink 0

Political Backwash

It’s like a huge wave crashing over my head. My hair is plastered to my face and a gale force wind is whippin’ everything into a frenzy. There are plenty of strong feelings in the brew–or stew. Well, maybe not stew since that needs to set a while and there is no setting down.

At work, I have the TV on alot. By now I absolutely despise the 24-hour news cycle. Careening from evangelical drug and sex scandals to botched jokes to fires. The only thing missing is a terror attack, but at least we had the Hussein verdict. Peppered throughout this “NEWS”–NOT–is a rolling commentary by a parade of pundits. Former somebodies, current nobodies, pollsters and jokesters all weigh in. It is deafening.

And I was talking to my dear friend who is in the other party. I began to say something about Iraq and a concern I had. He interrupted to tell me what I was going to say and what “your people” are saying. But hey, what I was going to say had nothing to do with anyone’s opinion except mine. It wasn’t a Red State-ment or a Blue State-ment. It was MY statement.

I wanted to share my thinkings with him. I was seeking out his response to my thinkings. Like having a dialogue. Like thinking things through outloud with someone that I often disagree with, but who I often learn from. And in this hyper-pundited atmosphere, I was shut down.

I AM NOT RED. I AM NOT BLUE. I am not my hair.

(c) 2005-2016 Doctor of Thinkology. Some rights reserved under Creative Commons License.
Posted on by docthink 0

Is Mean a Value?

What is up with mean people? I thought that people were getting low in their candidate attack ads. And I was going to be mean back. You know, insulting and name calling back at the mean people.

Then I saw Michael J. Fox with Katie Couric. I recognize that if I wanted the other side to have a reasoned discussion about a topic with high controversy and conflicting ethics, I share that obligation. Thanks McFly.

See for yourself. (flash video, 7:20)

(c) 2005-2016 Doctor of Thinkology. Some rights reserved under Creative Commons License.
Posted on by docthink 0

Know When to Hold ’em, Know When to Throw ’em

Know how to walk away, after your team has scored the runs.

“Whatever” is what I think about the brouhaha (or did I mean brew-haha?) about Tiger’s pitcher Kenny Rogers. Here’s the thing, after he washed his hand that had some kind of sticky–albeit not necessarily illegal–goop it was the first inning. He then, with perfectly clean hands, proceeded to pitch a 2 hit game. 41 years old and he pitched 8 innings in the frozen Motor City. And the Tigers’ WON. Oh, and it was game two of the World Series.

Makes me think about little pieces of dirt in my current “hometown.” Sometimes, it seems, that the dirt that is exposed is just dirt, and doesn’t make a bit of difference about whether someone is fit for public office. And sometimes the dirt is bad, and should be a disqualifier. Here, like with Kenny Rogers, it seems that in many cases there is honest (and in other cases sometimes some not-so-honest) disagreement.

Go Tigers! And whiners be quiet, Devil’s Night is coming up.

Posted on by docthink 0

Lil’ T Needs to be KO’d

Frank DeFord of Sports Illustrated dogged Dallas Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens this week identifying him as “primarily narcissistic and the very opposite of funny…mean-spirited…vulgar and unforgivable.” Not a big endorsement of the man who is releasing the first of an upcoming series of children’s books.

Yes, that gentle giant, T.O. is helping kids to be better people. His first book, Little T Learns to Share, is about–now get this–sharing! I haven’t seen the book, due out in mid-November but it I bet it includes classic themes.

Like “You give me the ball, and I run with it. You share your stuff with me, and I’ll take it. You scratch my back, and I will yell if you stop. You pay more attention to me or I will take pills until I turn blue.” And, of course, “You do love me, don’t you?” Followed by, “I don’t care, anyway you ************”

This is a bit too ironic for me. But maybe, these books aren’t written BY Mr. Owens but FOR Mr. Owens. I hope he takes them to heart–but I am not buying his books (or his jersey) for the little brats in my life.

Posted on by docthink 0