Lou Pickney's Online Commentary
Sorting It Out
Thursday
September 11, 2003
Two years ago today, the United States was hit with a brutal, devestating and completely unexpected attack. What an awful, horrible chain of events. We can all deal with the reality and move on... but never, ever allow yourself to forget. If that happens, then the terrorists really will end up having won.
I'm a big supporter of President Bush, but his push to tie in 9/11 with the effort to build support for the so-called "Patroit Act 2" is embarrassing. The original Patriot Act legislation, which would be better described as the "Privacy Invasion Act", did nothing but steal individual liberties from Americans and create a bigger and more obtrusive federal government. The speed with which Congress and the Senate passed it is a chilling reminder of how quickly government can work -- when the payoff is more power for those in power.
At the same time, the Democrats face the challenge of finding a candidate to take on President Bush in the 2004 election. Al Sharpton is entertaining, but in an unintentional comedy sort of way. Howard Dean has grass roots support and a strong delivery, but can he hold up in the glare of the spotlight (and draw in the big-power voters needed for a win)? John Kerry seems too regional to draw the likes of Iowa and South Carolina. Dick Gephardt, Joseph Lieberman, etc. are all second-tier contenders. BTLS executive producer Brent Hatley told me he thinks Hillary Clinton will enter the race. Personally, I think she's waiting for 2008. But maybe I'm wrong. We shall see...
Stacey in the cubicle next to mine at DigiQuest has been talking about the CBS show Big Brother alot lately. Almost reminds me of old times when Sarah would talk about it in the control room at WTSP. As it is, I've only seen about 5 minutes of the series this year.
Time is limited these days. I'm giving serious consideration to scaling back my cable package. Having 12 Cinemaxs is nice and all, but the cost/value level doesn't seem to be there. Ditto for Showtime.
One thing I've struggled with since returning to a normal schedule is finding time to work out. I tried working out in the evening, but that ended up making me have a really tough time falling asleep. This morning, I tried something new. I woke up at 6 (which is when I normally try to get up, so I can catch the beginning of the Bubba The Love Sponge show). I had some cereal, played a little NCAA Football 2004 (more on that in a minute), and then went and worked out. It was great, I listened to the show and watched SportsCenter with the closed captioning on and was feeling good. I need to get a Walkman radio so I can listen to the show without having to turn in on blaring through the speakers in the gym. While I enjoy Bubba's show, I'm not looking to offend anyone. But for now, the radio will have to do.
My Dodge Neon is starting to act a little crazy. As if the psycho left turn signal wasn't bad enough, now it's giving me some hassle on the steering. Maybe it just needs some more power steering fluid -- I hope it's not more than that...
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