The public is often told by politicians that every vote counts. However, for voters in the states of Michigan and Florida, that is not the case. Their votes in the primary elections, as of press time, do not count, since they were stripped of their delegates when they violated Democratic Party rules and moved their primaries ahead of schedule in order to retain political clout.
St. Patrick's Day, the designated day that Americans celebrate the life of the patron saint of Ireland by drinking green beer and starting bar fights, is upon us once again. Though always something of a tradition in America, it has never been considered a bona fide holiday and things probably won't change anytime soon.
Generation X. For many Baby Boomers, this well-known label evokes images of rebellious, independent youth. To some extent, that classification might have been true 10 years ago. After all, Gen Xers came of age during extreme economic and social changes, including a skyrocketing divorce rate and the highest number of abortions in history.
On March 8, the Hollywood premiere of "Horton Hears a Who" unexpectedly turned into an anti-abortion protest. In attendance were the stars of the movie, their children and tons of other parents and their children. As the movie's slogan is "After all, a person is a person no matter how small," I suppose I could see how the protestors could misconstrue it as having as a pro-life message…if I were a religious fanatic.
As a retiree auditing classes for information and fun, I highly commend Rebecca Mahfouz for her excellent Perspectives article "College Is No Place for Consumer-Students." I received my degrees many, many years ago in Ann Arbor, where one had to study and work diligently to receive decent grades.
As the field of Democratic presidential candidates has narrowed over the past few months, the list of non-issues and insults candidates and media have decided to harp on has grown. While "reporters" focus on debating which candidate can claim the most winning smile, cutest kids, scariest middle name and shadiest real estate deals, the candidates themselves are vying to see who can best play the blameless victim, innocent of the wicked ways of the political world and deeply saddened by the other side's insults and innuendos.