Quickies

I'm not going to waste your time and -- more importantly -- my time with this Park51/Cordoba House "controversy." (Long story short: a man who owns land a couple blocks north of Ground Zero wants to build a Mosque there, and some people vehemently oppose it.)

(Here are arguments in favor and against it if you're interested)

(I support the argument in favor of building it because having the freedom to believe what you want to believe and voice those beliefs is kind of the whole point of America.)

And I'll also add that I think it's hypocritical when people use the word "freedom" to demand the right to own guns and not pay taxes, and then forget the meaning of the word when it comes to building a place of worship on private property.

I'd respect their argument if they simply said, "I want to be free to do the things I want to do. And I want you to be free to do the things I want to do."

(I'm serious. I wouldn't agree with it, but I'd respect that argument.)

And it's kind of troubling that we live in a media environment where some of those people -- who are either dumb or dishonest -- can have such a powerful voice.

(and meanwhile I've got two people reading this cock-forsaken blog)


(did anyone else get a laugh out of the "I'm not going to waste your time -- and more importantly -- my time" line at the beginning of this post? I thought it was kind of funny when I wrote it, but then I got a really big laugh out of it when I proofread it.)

...

Businesses have to pay a service charge for accepting credit cards, and so I sympathize with them for wanting customers to pay with cash. However, I prefer paying with a card because I don't like carrying change in my pocket.

So I propose this compromise: businesses should have prices that come out to whole numbers after tax. (or offer combos that come out to whole numbers after tax)

Or, perhaps more realistically: businesses should offer customers half of what the credit card fee would have been as a reward for paying with cash.

...

Here's a link to Nania's blog.

(Nania is Cindy's friend (who I mentioned in the previous post) who quit her job to go back to school at University of Michigan to get her MFA in creative writing. And not only is she getting a full scholarship to go to Michigan, but she's getting a stipend to cover her living expenses! AND, she only has class two days a week!!)

(So they shouldn't call it an MFA program. They should call it what it really is:  heaven.)

(And I'm almost starting to get out of control with the parentheses.)

(Almost.)

But seriously, when Nania becomes a famous novelista, you'll be able to say that you were reading her blog before anyone else had ever heard of her.

(I only used the word "novelista" because this morning Cindy referred to me as a "barista" since I make her coffee. I thought that sounded kind of feminine, but she assured me that "barista" refers to men and women. (I was thinking "barister" or "baristo" sounded more masculine.))