Renewing My Mad Subscription
BOSTON (CBS) - Anger management classes these days must be booming, no pun intended. There is just so much to be ticked off about, where does one begin? Beside the perennials – traffic, sleazy politicians, traffic, the cost of just about everything, traffic, the amount of air vs. product in the average potato chip bag, traffic – there is a virtual bevy of stuff that irks, annoys and frustrates most of the population.�� I offer up a few on my list to see how it stacks up with yours. And I know you have one.
Our government and the U.S. Army still refuses to label the Ford Hood shooting that resulted in several deaths and injuries of active duty troops a terrorist act. Even though our brave men and women were attacked savagely by "Major" Hassan, a self-described jihadist with a list of threats a mile long. Hassan is still collecting a paycheck; his shooting victims and their families don't qualify for combat benefits. Most of those shot were on their way to deployment. Disgusting. Please complain to your Congressmen, to the Army, to the editor if anyone will listen.
Speaking of terrorism, haven't we finally exhausted our supply of political correctness? Terrorists who happen to be crazed Muslims far outnumber any other terrorists wreaking havoc. They are clear, vocal and dead-on as to whom they hate and want to kill. Why can't our esteemed leaders simply acknowledge it? Our president suggests the war on terror is in many ways over. Really? Tell that to the victims in Boston, the beheaded off-duty soldier in London, the UN relief worker shot dead in Pakistan the other day trying to immunize local citizens (certainly innocent Muslims) against polio. I could scream.
Here are some other things that can drive one nuts (good idea to have a old pillow to beat on with a tennis racquet)...
Gawking morons who swear it's Hitler depicted in a teapot ad. Come on people, if that's the best you've got you need to work on your selective outrage. The outcry that forced JC Penney to take down its billboard, canceling an ad campaign for the kitchenware. And JC Penney is a company on the rocks. It's the last thing they needed. The proverbial tempest in a...you get the idea.
What else pushes my buttons? Pretty much everything about Kanye West. His latest publicity stunt has him comparing himself to the Lord and Savior. The Beatles went with the comparison to Jesus decades before you were thought about KW. Unless you're willing to go to a mountaintop to preach and stay there, get a life.
Surprise, surprise. The Massachusetts State Auditor's office reveals that millions of state welfare dollars are lost to scammers. You know the deal, dead people collecting riches, conniving relatives selling their EBT cards to other relatives. I'm not as angry about the fraud as I am at the stunned reaction by the auditor and other officials who just now realize we the taxpayers are being snookered. Why even Captain Louis Renault is shocked, shocked that there is cheating going on in Massachusetts. Please round up the usual suspects.
And since one of the most bothersome things in life has to be pouring through endless paragraphs in a column like this when you have better things to do, I present a quick-pick list of maddening moments:
*Long lines at the local cinema complex with one lonely pimply teenage attendant taking tickets. You WILL miss the trailers (often the best part of the movie going experience) and ditch the idea of waiting in line for over priced junk food (a potential benefit).
*Cretans who set up phone charities so they can steal from good-hearted folks who decide to give. There's a special reservation in that stifling place down under for them.
*Those incessant television commercials promoting one of a number of male sex enhancing products. It's not the products but the lame pitch. Who really gets the urge for friskiness while painting the den, ripping up weeds or building a birdhouse? And what's with the two bathtubs?
*Bad calls in major league baseball and there have been too many. Umpires are human and should admit to glaring mistakes. Actually, the men in blue often do admit to them but the stodgy old league officials refuse to correct obvious injustice. It's hurting the pastime.
*Madonna begging to be taken seriously. You're as old as I am lady. Fishnets from toes to crotch are unbecoming for a woman of your pedigree!
*Pushy, obnoxious people who bully store clerks, security guards, and secretaries. I refer to them as the "Do You Know Who I Am?" types. Show some respect for the hard working people who make your lives easier.
*Anything Kardashian and Bieber.
There is plenty more to gripe about. Safe to say writing complaints down is an effective way to release a bit of rage. Oh, that reminds me, the fact that schools are no longer teaching cursive penmanship and few know how to write even their names these days has me particularly peeved.
Whew, I feel that much better.
