Call a Spade a Spade

I wish people, and by that I mean politicians, could just say what they think and stand behind it, instead of having to backpeddle and kiss the possibly offended person's ass. I also wish you could say the name "Hitler" without all knees in the room hitting the underside of the table. Seriously, this "don't say bad things about Bush or he'll get you next" envirnoment is frightening. This dude should so not be allowed to direct military operations. Just two more years until we have a chance to fix this mess!

I Am Not Making This Up

I'm enjoying Dave Barry's new book, Dave Barry Hits Below the Beltway. I've been a fan of Dave Barry for years. My dad would cut his columns out of the paper for me, and I would read a month's (or a year's!) worth at a sitting. I have a few of his books, and I even received a signed copy of one of them for my birthday from my old pop. He's the kind of writer that makes me laugh out loud. I have a feeling he wrote this book while enjoying a lot of beer, because it's just out there. Very wacky, but chock full of real information about government and, most comically, South Florida. For instance, did you know that the current and immediate-past mayors of Miami are nicknamed "Crazy Joe" and "Mayor Loco"? It's true! The mayor of Hialeah was reelected twice while he was appealing a conviction on racketeering and extortion charges. Also true. South Florida is overrrun with lizards and amphibians of every kind, and also retired people. This is all very hilarious when you read it as explained by Dave Barry, of course. It's also the first time I've read about Gary Hart in years. Blah, blah, blah, go out and pick it up if you like a fast read that makes you snort milk out of your nose while also making you feel better about not being able to do anything about our twisted political system.