All this political debate gives me a headache. Truth is, I’m not happy with any of the candidates and there’s been so much arguing and nonsense flying around that honestly, I ceased to care. It was that or let it run my blood pressure up and folks, it’s not worth that. 

Why are we in so much debate over what America needs? I think it’s because America itself doesn’t have a uniform set of needs. America is made up of individuals and our needs vary as much as the socks behind the
dryer – they don’ t match and they come from all over the place. Here are 10 things that my corner of America needs:

1. Jobs and a better economy. Well, duh. Maybe that’s one thing we agree on. 

2. Three day weekends and four day work weeks. Because a 2 day weekend just isn’t enough time to do all you want/need to do. Heck, most people argue for Fridays but I’d take Mondays. Just one more free day would be a blessing for us 30 and 40 somethings with iPhone calendars that look like they have chicken pox from all the dots for meetings/appointments/commitments and etc. 

3. Less reality TV and more sci-fi and fantasy. Ax the talk shows too. I’ll be generous and leave the soaps, news shows, and syndicated sitcoms for variety. 


4. A federal mandate that we go digital by, like, tomorrow. Paper sucks and takes up too much space. We’re
killing trees folks! Computers aren’t the devil. You can learn it. Stretch the brain and save yourself papercuts.


5. Make telemarketing illegal. Period. Forget the do not call list. Just make it all a felony.

6. While we speak of illegal, is there a logical reason why gas needs to be over $2.00 a gallon? Oh, spare me the economic mumbo jumbo. I said logical. I contribute to some oil  executive clearing multi-billion dollar profits every 2 weeks when I go to the gas station. Now how are those profits related to supply and demand (besides the demand for the executives to have big profits)? 

7. Write off pets on your taxes. Because too many people abuse animals and I think those that make the
investment of providing them with the care and life they’re supposed to have should be rewarded. 

8. Along those lines, I think the penalties for hurting animals should be exactly the same as they would
be for hurting a human being. A dog, cat, bird, or horse is just as alive as I am. So why a $20 fine and slap on the hand for hurting them and death penalty case for hurting a human? The people that hurt humans usually started by abusing animals. Throw them in the slammer for killing an animal and they won’t be out there to hurt kids. Or anybody else for that matter. Because we got the hint that they completely disrespect the sanctity of life when they hurt an animal and we did something about it sooner rather than later.

9. Terraform Mars. Because at 7 billion and climbing, it’s getting a wee bit crowded on the third rock from the sun. Ok, that's not confined to America, but we should be leading in research, development and planning to extend our reach to the stars.

10.Get rid of standard time. We’re only on it for 4 months a year. Chuck the twice a year clock reset and leave it daylights saving time year round. Because really, nobody likes it being dark at 5:30 p.m. in the winter anyway. Face it, we’re trying to phase it out anyway. Let’s just do it already.

So that's it - 10 things I think our candidates should be talking about instead of the nonsense they're spewing every day. But of course, that's  just my opinion. And we all know that doesn't count - until election day, anyway. 

Happy Friday to you folks. Have a great weekend.

Bye!

  

Last year, I did a blog entry on "Things More Interesting Than the Royal Wedding" and talked about things I had my eye on in the spring and summer of 2011. That entry seemed to get some interest and I thought, why not do it again? I mean, stuff is happening all the time, right? So how about an update. Here are 5 things coming down the pipeline that I am watching with great interest:

1.    Arrow. I've been hearing talk of a TV series about The Green Arrow for a few years, and I'm glad they weren't just rumors. It's real, and it's coming to The CW on Wednesday nights at 8PM. With Supernatural being moved to Wednesdays at 9PM, I'd say this could be a winning combination - after all, Smallville and Supernatural back to back worked well, and this is something very similar. I'm a sucker for superheros and I'm definitely going to check it out. You can find more, along with a trailer for the promo episode on October 10 at http://www.cwtv.com/shows/arrow .

2.    The Hobbit. I was looking forward to 2 movies in 2012: The Avengers, and this. The Avengers was awesome and this too will be epic. Check out the trailer here:

3.    The 2012 Election. And not just the Presidential election either - even at the State Level, this is going to be pandemonium. I have a feeling that Election Day 2012 is going to be Festivus for the Rest of Us, because a lot of people have a lot of problems with the way things are going, and that's going to be their day you're gonna hear about it. This election is going to be a 3 ring circus. God help us. I have no idea where things are going to end out but it's gonna be interesting.

4.    The iPad Mini. I know it's just rumors, and really it's not specifically about this device. I'm interested to see how the tablet market continues to evolve. It seems to me that everything is drawing off everything else and they're trying to keep developing the "one thing to rule it all." For example, from what I've heard, the concept of the iPad Mini is to make it more like the Kindle Fire.  I have no doubts that laptops, tablets, and ereaders will be one in the same device in the near future, especially from what I've heard about how the upcoming Windows 8 will look more like a tablet than a PC. Yep, it won't be long. The thing with that, though, is pricing. No doubt, a device that's a laptop/ereader/tablet would be exhorbantly expensive, which isn't exactly a way to put it in the power of the people. But who knows what they'll come up with. At any rate, this market is moving fast and I'm interested to see where this train is going.

5.    The Justice League Movie. Again it's rumors, but I've been hearing murmurs of this happening on and off for a little while, and they've reignited with the success of The Avengers. I'd like to see such a thing, but the fact of the matter is that Marvel acted in good faith first, so DC is going to have to pull a hell of a rabbit of their hat to top that. Plus, Marvel is keeping up the momentum with Iron Man 3 coming soon and Thor 2 in the works. With the flop of The Green Lantern (which was a disappointment), DC has a lot  of ground to cover in catching up. They better step up the pace and get in the ring soon, or the "superhero" market is going to play out and they'll be after midnight getting to the ball. In other words, they need to get moving before the next big thing breaks - and while Marvel has the momentum going NOW. When it comes to things like this, timing is everything.

So there you have it - 5 things I'm watching with great interest. Some are certain, some aren't, but I think I can say for sure that you're going to see momentum going on all of these in the coming months.

Happy Friday to you all, and I hope you have a great weekend.

Bye!