Best and Worst Valentine's Day Candy

Best and Worst Valentine's Day Candy

Ah, Valentine's Day. The day when we are forced to run out and purchase the reproductive organs of plants that will die as soon as we display them, and then shell out more money on overpriced sugar products designed to add calories and fat to those we love the most. For if we do not do these things, if we do not partake of the rituals, spend $6.00 on pre-written love letter rather than say it ourselves everyday we're together, then we are baaaad men. Baaaaad Men! Because after all, let's face it, we Never do anything for those we love on a daily basis, do we. Well, check out the attached article and see if what's really best for our hearts is putting our money where our mouth is. Then come back and tell me what you think. I'll be here, tearing the pedals off the daisies.

This is WHERE You're Fat

The following information on how FAT Americans are becoming is both shocking and revolting.  I've given you visuals about WHAT we've been eating, but his article pinpoints WHERE the biggest number of Fat Americans live.

While the article gives a great deal of good and useful information (sometimes somebody's gotta grab you by the lapels once in a while, you know?), the BLAME for this type of behavior and resulting condition is in my humble opinion three fold: It is Accessability, Econony, and Parenting.  We've lost the ability to get to and grow our own food. 50 years ago, we were still a largely agricultural society, but now the number of Americans even capable of growing their own veggies is shockingly low.  And the places that used to be around the corner have been killed off by huge processing and grocery conglomerates.  And thanks to economic trends during these last several decades, those most in need of healthy foods have become the ones least likely to be able to get to it or afford to purchase it.  And the newest crop of parents in this nation are some of the worst.  Yup. I said it.  For every caring mom and dedicated dad providing nutritious foods for their 2.5 kids, there's easily 10 uneducated idiots tossing Hot Cheetos and Gatorade down the throats of their tubby litter of 6 unhealthy rugrats.  But hey, that's just me, right?  Well...Read this and see if you don't agree.

10 States With the Deadliest Eating Habits

by Charles B. Stockdale, Douglas A. McIntyre and Michael B. Sauter
Wednesday, February 9, 2011


Americans are fat and getting fatter by the year. Recent data reported in medical journal Lancet showed that BMI (Body Mass Index), a recognized measurement of obesity, is higher on average in America than in any other nation.
The obesity problem, however, is international. The report in Lancet states that "In 2008, 9.8 percent of the world's male population were obese, as were 13.8 percent of women. In 1980, these rates were 4.8 percent and 7.9 percent." U.S. eating habits and diets have been exported, many experts say. Nations which before had relatively lean diets which were high in grains and fruits now consume many more soft drinks and hamburgers.

Fat Americans are more likely to have diabetes, coronary artery disease, strokes and certain forms of cancer. Less well reported are links between obesity and dementia, obesity and postmenopausal estrogen receptors, and obesity and social status. Thin people, apparently, are more likely to be chief executives and billionaires.

The journal Health Affairs reported last year that overall obesity-related health spending reached $147 billion in the U.S., about double what it was a decade earlier.



And here are the Top Ten FATTEST States in the Union. And remember: "Per Capita" means the average amount "for EVERY individual in that state."  That's babies just born to elderly folks in nursing homes and everybody inbetween.

10. New Mexico

Grocery Stores Per 1,000 Residents: 0.26 (23rd)
Amount Spent on Fast Food Per Capita: $737 (8th most)
Gallons of Soft Drinks Purchased Per Capita: 58 (12th least)
Pounds of Sweet Snacks Purchased Per Capita: 111 (13th least)

New Mexico's worst rankings occur in two metrics. It has the 44th-greatest percentage of households without a car that are more than 10 miles from a supermarket or grocery store and the 44th-greatest percentage of population that has low income and is more than 10 miles from a supermarket or grocery store, according to the United States Department of Ag1riculture. These metrics are significant because they suggest a lack of access to affordable and nutritious food. Residents may rely on fast food restaurants and convenience stores instead. New Mexico has the eighth-greatest amount of money spent on fast food per capita among all the states considered.
9. Arizona
Grocery Stores Per 1,000 Residents: 0.17 (47th)
Amount Spent on Fast Food Per Capita: $761 (4th most)
Gallons of Soft Drinks Purchased Per Capita: 60 (21st least)
Pounds of Sweet Snacks Purchased Per Capita: 109 (11th least)

Arizona has the second-fewest grocery stores per person, with only 0.17 for every 1,000 people. This illustrates a major restriction on healthy food access for one of the country's fastest growing states. One of the ways in which residents of Arizona are supplementing their diets is with fast food. Arizonans spent an average of $760.50 each on fast food in 2007, the fourth-greatest amount among the states.
8. Ohio
Grocery Stores Per 1,000 Residents: 0.18 (45th)
Amount Spent on Fast Food Per Capita: $622 (20th least)
Gallons of Soft Drinks Purchased Per Capita: 70 (11th most)
Pounds of Sweet Snacks Purchased Per Capita: 122 (10th most)

Because a large part of Ohio's poor population is located in major urban centers like Cleveland and Cincinnati, the state ranks well in regards to access to grocery stores among the poor. However, the state ranks third-worst in store availability across all income classes at 0.18 locations per 1,000 people, compared to 0.6 in first place North Dakota. Ohio's population has the 11th-greatest consumption of soft drinks, and top-10 highest consumption of both sweet snacks and solid fats. As a result of these poor diets, Ohio has an adult diabetes occurrence of over 10%, which is the 11th-worst rate in the country.
7. South Dakota
Grocery Stores Per 1,000 Residents: 0.5 (4th)
Amount Spent on Fast Food Per Capita: $547 (9th least)
Gallons of Soft Drinks Purchased Per Capita: 64 (23rd least)
Pounds of Sweet Snacks Purchased Per Capita: 122 (8th most)

South Dakota has the fifth-smallest population in the country, and yet, it is the 17th-largest state in terms of geographic area. As a result, many residents have limited access to affordable and nutritious food. In fact, South Dakota has the greatest percentage of households with no car and which are more than 10 miles from a supermarket or grocery store, as well as the greatest percentage of low-income households which are more than 10 miles from a supermarket or grocery store. Only 10.1% of adults in South Dakota consume the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' recommended two or more fruits and three or more vegetables per day, compared to the national average of 14%. This is the fifth-worst rate in the nation.
6. Nevada
Grocery Stores Per 1,000 Residents: 0.23 (29th)
Amount Spent on Fast Food Per Capita: $939 (most)
Gallons of Soft Drinks Purchased Per Capita: 58 (10th least)
Pounds of Sweet Snacks Purchased Per Capita: 114 (19th least)
Nevada spends the most per capita on fast food -- nearly $940 per person per year. This is roughly 25% more than Texas, the second-worst state, and well more than twice what Vermont residents spend. As might be expected, the state ranks in the bottom 10 for both households with no cars and low-income populations, defined as people with income less than 200 percent of the federal poverty thresholds, and proximity to grocery stores. Nevada's obesity and diabetes rates, are above average.

5. Oklahoma
Grocery Stores Per 1,000 Residents: 0.25 (24th)
Amount Spent on Fast Food Per Capita: $676 (15th most)
Gallons of Soft Drinks Purchased Per Capita: 69.8 (8th most)
Pounds of Sweet Snacks Purchased Per Capita: 103.2 (3rd least)

The rate of household-level food insecurity, including households with food access problems as well as households that experience disruptions in their food intake patterns due to inadequate resources for food, is 15.2% in Oklahoma. The national rate is 13.5%. Oklahoma also has the third-lowest rate of adults who meet the recommended two fruit/three vegetable daily intake, with only 9.3% of adults doing so. Perhaps this is part of the reason Oklahoma's obesity rate is 31.4%, the fifth-worst in the country.

4. Kansas
Grocery Stores Per 1,000 Residents: 0.35 (7th)
Amount Spent on Fast Food Per Capita: $610 (19th least)
Gallons of Soft Drinks Purchased Per Capita: 64 (23rd most)
Pounds of Sweet Snacks Purchased Per Capita: 121 (12th most)

Kansas has some of the easiest access (seventh-best) to stores where cheap and healthy food is available. It is clear, however, that most residents do not take advantage of this, as the state has one of the worst diets in the country. Residents consume the 12th-most sweet snacks per person as well as the 12th-most solid fats -- more than 20 pounds per person. The state ranks 28th in adult diabetes and 31st in obesity -- 28% of the state's adults are considered overweight.

3. Missouri
Grocery Stores Per 1,000 Residents: 0.26 (22nd)
Amount Spent on Fast Food Per Capita: $623 (21st least)
Gallons of Soft Drinks Purchased Per Capita: 65 (18th highest)
Pounds of Sweet Snacks Purchased Per Capita: 121 (17th most)

Missouri does not rank especially poor in any of the metrics considered, however it does rank badly in about almost every one. It has the 11th-lowest rates of adults eating the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables, the eighth-greatest rate of food insecurity, and relatively high rates of soft drink, sweet snack and solid fats consumption. Missouri has the ninth-worst rate of obesity among adults, with 30% having a body mass index greater than 30.

2. AlabamaGrocery Stores Per 1,000 Residents: 0.21 (37th)
Amount Spent on Fast Food Per Capita: $649 (23rd most)
Gallons of Soft Drinks Purchased Per Capita: 77 (4th most)
Pounds of Sweet Snacks Purchased Per Capita: 113 (16th least)

Alabama residents consume 77 gallons of soft drinks per capita per year, the fourth-highest amount in the country. This is roughly 33% more than Oregon, which consumes the least. Soft drinks like cola have more sugar per ounce than nearly any other food we regularly consume, and it is clear that soda has helped contribute to Alabama's poor health outcomes. The state has the seventh-highest obesity rate and, predictably, the second-worst diabetes rate. More than 12% of the state's adult population has the disease.
1. MississippiGrocery Stores Per 1,000 Residents: 0.21 (34th)
Amount Spent on Fast Food Per Capita: $588 (17th least)
Gallons of Soft Drinks Purchased Per Capita: 82 (most)
Pounds of Sweet Snacks Purchased Per Capita: 113 (17th least)

Mississippi has the worst eating habits in the country. Only 8.8% of the adult population eats the recommended amount of daily fruits and vegetables, the lowest rate in the country. Residents consumed just under 82 gallons of soft drinks per capita in 2006, the greatest amount reported. Furthermore, the state has the third-highest rate of household-level food insecurity, with 17.1% of households being affected. It is perhaps unsurprising, then, that the state has the highest rates of both adult diabetes (12.8%) and adult obesity (34.4%).


And there you have it.  If you live in these states, take a long hard look at how you live and why you continue to live that way. And if you don't live there, don't just shrug it off as "I coulda told you it'd be those states".  Look at the trend, man!  We are keeping the best food away from the Americans who need it most!  Better nutrition makes better people, pure and simple!  And what this country needs right now is a Better Crop of People!  No matter where you live, its your right and responsibility as an American to make sure we grow the leanest, toughest, nicest, and most intelligent society in the world.  You can and by all means should be involved in getting this situation turned around.  Can't figure out how to help in Mississippi? Ok, fine.  Write a letter to the USDA about this article at least.  Or check in your own schools to see what's in the vending machines. Who's in charge of that, anyway?  Got any local farmer's markets you can get to be involved with your kids' Back to School Night or after school programs?  How about a farmer's market at the High School some weekend?  I don't know, I'm just saying.  Get involved to some degree.  Otherwise...you're part of why America is Fat.

Agree? Disagree? Tell me about it. I'll be here, consuming my per capita share of Sam Adams.

The Bittersweet Anticipation of the Super Hero Movies

http://captainamerica.marvel.com/
http://thor-marvel.com/


Ok.
I've waited 40 years for this to happen, and I better not be disappointed.  I'm just saying.

2011 and 2012 could possibly present the biggest and most soul-satisfying movie-going summers of my entire life, and I say that with no undo hyperbole, friends and neighbors.  Those of you that know me understand that I am and always have been a certified, dyed in the wool comic book enthusiast.  Not a Fan, with pointy ears and a geeky smirk and that "i've-never-seen-a-boobie" look on my acne-smeared face, but an Enthusiast, one who truly appreciates the medium as an art form, a hobby, and an investment to certain extents.  As a teacher, I was always a proporter of the comic as a way to get students reading -- as many curriculum make reading a chore and could take the fun out of sharpening a pencil, I always encouraged my students to read anything they wanted to read, within reason.  Comic books not only encourage students to read with high-interest material, they foster an appreciation of art, drawing, form and structure, writing, sequence of plot, formulaic storytelling, mythology, science, ethics, morality, societal roles and more.  And during the last ten years or so, this art form has been adapted with mixed results to a new medium, that of motion pictures.

It has been a rocky road, this love affair between Hollywood and comic books.  And the results have not always been fireworks and fanfare like the first Spider-Man movie.  Many have been crash and burn flops boardering on the insipid, like the uber-shlocky Elektra. Jennifer Garner owes me $8.50.

I was not happy with the Hulk attempts, and felt bad for Ed Norton (the second Mr. Banner, like a smarter, angrier Dick York), who wrote the second movie's script and then had it hacked to pieces once out of his grasp.  The Fantastic Four movies showed promise with Micheal Chicklis, or whatever his name is.  But Jessica Alba was about as convincing a Sue Storm as Martin Lawrence is a an elderly black woman.  The only thing of redeeming quality was the flip and flirty Chris Evans as the Human Torch.  He did a good job in that.  And then Iron Man came along, and revitalized my faith that such collaborations could be created if MovieLand just stuck to the core material to begin with and did not try to "refresh" aspects of the mythologies which they deemed replaceable.  Note: Dr. Doom is not a morphing metal madman. Bruce Banner's dad is not the Absorbing Man. Nick Fury is not Samuel L. Jackson (and I know somebody's not gonna agree with me on that. But the Ultimate Universe is not the Marvel Universe, and the two should never cross.  So shut the hell up.). 

Iron Man was such a hit that it fueled the creation of more super-hero movies.  And to my giddy excitement, movies that piece together like a great, four-color puzzle.  See, The Hulk and Iron Man were founding members of one of my favorite comics, The Avengers.  This is a team of heavy-hitters comprised of these two big guns, Thor, some incidental characters I'll mention in a minute, and my all-time favorite comic book character: Captain America.  SO, now we have the new Thor movie set to show in May, and then the new Captain America, all in anticipation of the Avengers movie next year.  The new Cap movie is actually titled "Captain America: The First Avenger" to whet the appetites of the faithful.

And for those who actually thought Seth Rogan was a convincing Green Hornet (you putzes), he's actually slated to play Hank Pym as Ant Man, one of those "incidental characters" I mentioned previously.  If there is a God in Heaven, this movie will never be made.  Seth. Listen, buddy.  Produce, write, make little stoney flicks with crude humor and semi-ad-libbed scripts.  But stop with the super hero thing.  Some of us care.

So I'm ready.  Ready to be amazed and ready to be disgusted.  The movies will either meet my extreme expectations or fall ridiculously flat.  And its my own fault.  I know too much about movie making and I know too much about comic books and the core subject material is closer to me than most people are to their football teams. 

But I've seen the trailers.  Even football fans saw them as they watched the Super Bowl.  And I've attached the links at the top for you to see them.  And thus far....I'm amazed.  The Cap trailer has the Red Skull looking fairly cool as he pulls off a rubber-faced disguise (a trade-mark of his in the early books), and tanks with Hydra insignias (a big Cap enemy group), and even Cap leading the Howling Commandos in WWII, which should have been Nick Fury's job, but they had to reboot that to cover for Samuel L. Jackson! I'm waving my clenched fist in the air here, but you can't see it. But who plays Cap?  Chris Evans, the aforementioned Human Torch from the FF movies!  Really?  Really, Hollywood?  There was no body else who fit the suit?  Huh.  I'll be damned. Well, let's hope he's the right man to fill Steve Rogers shoes and does an amazing job.  Personally, I think he'd make a better Hawkeye, but I've already lost you I'm sure with too many comic referrences, so let's suffice to say I'm trepidacious, but optimistic.

And the Thor trailer is up there, too.  And it looks pretty damn good, too, except that I have no idea who this bohunk is playing Thor, and Natalie Portman is in it, ensuring her appearances at Sci-Fi Conventions twenty years from now if this Black Swan thing doesn't pan out, and the fact that it's in 3D.  Christ, enough with the 3D already!  We get it!  Stuff looks kinda realish, but not quite.  Got it.  But Sir Anthony Hopkins is in it, which is cool, as Odin, Thor's father. I'm interested in seeing how he does. And they show the Destoyer, too, which flitted my little 10-year-old heart when I saw that classic Thor villian.  And in the trailer, Thor is being questioned by that same robotic SHIELD Agent from the Iron Man movies, so I know there's going to be some good sequences of Thor vs. the Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-Enforcement Division.  oh, god...i am a geek, aren't i?

So take a look at the trailers and let me know what you think.  I'll be here, getting the popcorn and the hari-kari sword ready.

The Return of the Fatted Pig

I have returned.

I know a lot of you thought I'd died. Not true. Hell, I thought I was dead, too. Turns out I was just in Reseda.

But I'm back now, and ready to talk, type, and state things as I see fit, the Scott Said So way. I have refueled the furnace of my ego and have a surplus of hot air waiting to spew across your computer monitors. After all I've been through these past six months, I am ready to perry, thrust, and eviserate a variety of American icons, topics, and sacred cows. Yup. It's been a rough year. I would fill you in, but my esteemed legal council, Mr. Jacob Stein, has advised me against expousing details. I can only tell you that the many outlandish rumors of my alleged "incarceration" abroad were blown wildly out of proportion, and there is not one shred of evidence linking me to any of the sordid events involving any of those interns. Speculations and Hear-Say, I tell you! Matter of fact, I refuse to speak further on the subject. I will simply add that I have nothing further to add.

And now...to business at hand.

Well here it is a brand new year, ripe with possibilities and prospects. The rotting, bloated carcass of 2010 shrinking in our rear-view mirrors as we motor head-long into what will surely be a grab-bag of WTF's and You'veGottaBeKidding's. And I think I'm awake and sober enough now to be able to report and comment on anything that comes our way, people. I have a slew of topics I'm itching to tear into, and can't wait to get back up on that spot-lit soap-box where a blow-hard such as myself likes to think he belongs.

So, if you've an open mind and an ax to grind, or if you love spoon-fed opinions that are spicy and bite-sized, then all I can say is get comfortable, strap yourselves in, and open wide! Scott Said So is back, and I plan on being heard.

Want me to go off on something in particular? Tired of me already? One of the many hoping I'd remain dead? Email me. I'll be here, sharpening my rapier-like wit and shoveling coal into my ego.

Morons, Captured On Film!

Saw this posted on the internet and fell deeply in love. Very rarely does something come around on film that truly captures an aspect of my rants so brilliantly. You've heard me go on and on about the "Morons" out there who "aren't as Cool as You" when you're driving. Well, this video montage helps bring a lot of what I'm talking about into clear focus.

I must apologize, however, as the original title of this was some kind of a slam against "women drivers." And that is NOT my intention at all when passing this video along. Stupidity knows no sex, resides not completely within any one gender, or race, or skin color. There are stupid people of every ethnicity, on every continent, and in every family. A Moron Driver is a Moron Driver. Period. They jeopardize our safety individually, and weaken us as a nation collectively.

Now, having said that, I hope you will think of this amusing video as a tutorial of sorts, on what not to do when behind the wheel. Like it? Let me know. Think it's garbage and I'm a monger of bad taste for showing it? Fine. Just let me know. I'll be here, texting in the safety of my drive way.

Enjoy!

The Power of Ten Bucks

The Power of Ten Bucks.
Whatever happened to the power of ten bucks? Remember when ten bucks in your pocket meant something? You'd reach into the right front pocket of your Levis and you'd feel the bills all wrinkled and folded, and you'd remember, "Oh, yeah. I still got that ten bucks." And you'd just smile, just a little.
A little feeling of empowerment. A spring in your step. And somehow that meant you had possibilities that moments before were not on your horizon. You could maybe go see a movie, or buy a couple of beers, or take a cab downtown, or pick up a pizza, or whatever.
That's a good feeling, the Power of Ten Bucks. I'd like my kids to have that. To them, ten bucks is nothing. Nothing! Ten bucks can't get them in anywhere, can't provide them with that same sense of power and potential that it did for us. They need that. Hell, I need that. That daily dose of power. A lot of people could really use that now, I think. That Power of Ten Bucks. Too many of us, too often, go too many days in a row without that special little feeling of empowerment, and I think maybe we end up feeling just a degree less potent, less important, less jazzed about the day's possibilities.
Ain't that sad?
I say, let's get it back. Let's make ten bucks mean something again. "Wake up, Grampa," you say. "Those days are long gone, Scotty-boy. You're living in the past."
And to that I gently reply, "Stuff that noise."
I still say ten bucks is a good little chunk of change. And I feel quite strongly that ten bucks should be enough money to buy three people some fast food. And something other than a freekin' fillet o'fish, too. I'm talking about a good size burger, some fries, and a nice size soda. Ten bucks should get two people into a movie, (and the movie should be WORTH ten bucks...can I get a "Hell, yes!"), and the dude should still have some money left over to buy his date some popcorn.
Am I talking crazy here? I think not. Have we forgotten who's in charge around here? Is that how impotent the world has made the majority of us feel? Like we're just faceless automotons, cogs in a wheel too great for us to understand or impose our own identity upon?
Well, let us not forget how important we are as individuals in this country. We are cogs, yes, I'll agree. But cogs make the machine run, baby. Without us, it's all smoke and noise. We decide the price of EVERYTHING on sale in America. Ev-Er-EE-Thing. The price of a cup of coffee is NOT set by the supply but by the DEMAND. You get enough people in this country to say "No" to Starbucks' $3.00 cup of coffee; you watch that price drop like an anvil out of a Warner Brothers sky. You really believe a new car in this country should cost $30,000? That a 2,000 square foot house should cost $350,000 and you should pay for it for 30 years and still owe $200,000 on it? That you should pay cable television services for 100 channels you don't watch (I don't need six Korean language stations, do I?)? That a Hershey Bar should cost ten times what it did thirty years ago, and be smaller in size? That gasoline needs to be $3.00 a gallon? "Scott, there's nothing we can do. You're being stupid."
Really. Well, a wiser man than I once said, "Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large numbers!" CASE IN POINT: If every American citizen uses just one gallon of gas each day (according to recent studies, this is the case.), and this includes babies who don't drive, I know, but it also includes truckers and bus drivers and construction personel who drive for a living, so hear me out. So take that as a standard, one gallon of gasoline per person in the U.S. each day. Ok. So. What if we all, every person, just did not drive for one whole day. One 24 hour period. That's it. Just do not use the car for anything. (Ok, we'd make exceptions for emergency vehicles. Yeesh.) That means that 350 million gallons of gas would not get used on that day. And, if each gallon cost an average of, let's be conservative here, $3.00 a gallon, then that would be more than ONE BILLION DOLLARS in ONE DAY that the oil companies would lose out on, and that the American public would gain.
Ok, ok. I understand. Not everybody can do that. Police. Hospitals. Whatever. I know. But if only ONE PERCENT of the public did it, that would still be $10 Million Dollars lost to the oil companies in one day. And what if we repeated that just once a month for a whole year? We could set both the precident and the price. And we would remember that we do have control, that we are important, that we do not live in a world that we have little or no say in, and that we can not or do not control.
And we could make ten bucks in your pocket mean something again.

I await your two cents. I'll be here, sitting in my counting house eating bread with honey.

Random Rant

Sometimes I'm wondering if anybody is actually paying attention to the facts. Seems alotta times we get wrapped up in our emotions about a topic, and don't take the time to take a breath and pay attention to the facts and figures from a safe distance.
Ferinstince: I'm on Facebook (because I am a mindless automoton who craves any kind of tiny spotlight, that's why), and one of those useless "polls" comes up: Should "one nation, under God" be taken out of the Pledge of Allegiance, it was asking. And without hesitation I voted Yes.
My reasoning is just this: It's not part of the original verse. It was added in the 1940s, I believe, by President Roosevelt (and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on the date or the man), but the fact remains it was added. So taking it out is not commiting some kind of sacriledge, it's not revisionist-history-making, and it is certainly - by far - Not Un-American.
America SHOULD change things from time to time, in order to keep up with the times and the temperment of its people. It needs to take a fresh look at things, compare and contrast the facts to the principles we've built them upon, and review, rethink, and re-edit when needed. Hell, the Vatican did! And I'm thankful I can eat a Slim-Jim on Friday now. We do it with our currency, and not just to stay one step ahead of the counterfieters, either. How many Buffalo Head nickels you see anymore?
Point is that the term "under God" is a great thought; a heart-warming hug of safety and nostalgia that makes a lot of Americans feel all warm and snuggly. It is not "bad." It is, however, not needed. It does not make the Pledge any more or less American, Communistic, Socialistic, or Federalistic. (...is that last one even a word? Look that up and get back to me.) It simply does not accurately reflect the ideals or commitments implied by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. We've got to keep in mind that this country is not made up of just You's and Me's. It's a whole lotta Them's. And that's cool. Together, we're all still Us. We just gotta remember to look at things bigger.
We, as Americans, have got to look at things in the big picture, and the big picture here is "Sometimes you don't get your way, just 'cuz you think you're right." Sometimes, even though you are a lovely person, an honest taxpayer and one helluva golfer, the thing you want most dearly in life may not be the best thing for the entire country. And that's ok. That's the way it works. Sometimes, you don't get your way. And you have to learn to live with that and move on.
Still upset by the decisions being made? Good. Means you're still paying attention. Now you're next move is writing letters, studying the concepts, researching the topics both pro and con so you can make the best possible judgements, and working the system. It is NOT just whining on Facebook or Twitter or MySpace -- if you're 12, that is -- and screaming out in your Status Field about your tiny little thoughts. Shut up and DO something if you don't like it. That's what America is all about: Doing something. Good, bad, indifferent. But doing something. Something that will, if you're lucky, smart, and determined enough, actually incite a change. A change for the better, maybe. A change that will turn people's heads and get them thinking. A change, perhaps, in something that many folks consider a solid, unchangeable staple of the American landscape.

Like the words in the Pledge of Allegiance.

So it seems to me that whatever side of this point you're on, you have a chance to do something about it. For it or a'gin it, you get to make a stand and hopefully be counted. Ah, I love America!
And I know there'll be backlash. A huge, tsunami wave of crap-laden backlash, sweeping my way from people I've known and not seen for thirty years. My Michigan friends, my Los Angeles colleagues, my Asian Hookers. They'll all come out of the woodwork now and tell me how wrong I am.
At least, I hope they do. That way I'll know somebody is still paying attention. Until the villagers storm my walls weilding torches and pitchforks, leave me your thoughts on the subject. I'll be here, boiling the oil in the parapits.
By the way, this was a one-draft rant, so save your barbs about my spelling and grammar. I didn't even go back to check. Thanks.