After all these years, still trying to get the hang of Thursdays.

It's me again. That's right. Like a bad penny, I just keep showing up. It is Thursday, November 17, 2011, and I bid you welcome. What's that you say? You've always wondered about that saying about the bad penny? Me too. The phrase origin is pretty old. It can be traced back to the mid 1700's but it most likely goes much further back than that. It hearkens back to the day and time when a penny was serious money, therefore, it was a prime target for counterfeiting. Thus, the bad penny, used to purchase things, gets into circulation, and it keeps showing up. This metaphor became applied to people who were of bad character who seemed always to be turning up. There's much more to it and you have my permission to do your own independent research but for now you can take the bit of trivia I've shared, write it down on a sheet of paper, carefully fold it, put it and $3.00 dollars down on the counter, and you might, the emphasis on might, just get yourself a small cup of what they pass off as coffee. Why do all things eventually come back to the subject of coffee? Let me just say this about that. I'm sitting here and underneath my desk are two large boxes. One of them has a huge logo that depicts the Community Coffee Company. The other contains a recent shipment of ten pounds of my favorite blend, Between Roast. Not too dark and not too light. Just right. Maybe that says a lot. I'll take a few moments and a few sips and get back to you on that one.

I haven't counted but I do know that I've not had much to say about the political world of late. That does not mean I have lost interest or that I have not been paying attention. Sure, disgusted is a term I think most of us could use when it comes to trying to make sense out of the political morass we find ourselves in. I had never thought too seriously about this one but I heard it explained the other day and I thought it to be a really good idea. This fellow was talking about changes that should be made in how laws are passed and implemented in our nation. He suggested that we pass a constitutional amendment stating that the President nor Congress can ever pass a law that does not apply to themselves as it does to all Americans. He went on to speak to the huge number of laws they have exempted themselves from having to obey or comply with. I knew that was true but when you think about it, this particular situation really does begin to produce a rotten smell emanating from our nation's capitol. It reminds me of that history notation about how unsafe trains were early in our history, accounting for many passenger deaths. However, when judges began to sentence the train executives to the unthinkable, that being a judgment which dictated they must ride their own trains, guess what? Train safety improved immensely. Could it be that this fellow's idea about all the laws applying to all Americans, regardless, could end up making it better for us all? I'm not sure but it sounds pretty good to me!

We all know what it means to experience a brain freeze after eating something really cold too fast. This phrase is now being tagged onto presidential candidates who have a momentary lapse in being unable to answer a question. Texas Governor Rick Perry had one the other day where he couldn't come up with his own answer for 53 seconds. Businessman Herman Cain suffered one regarding his views on Libya. Much has been made of this because the national media would have us to know that a brain freeze of this type might involve not being able to remember how to operate the atomic bomb at 3 a.m. in the morning, or some other dire circumstance. Most folks want all those seeking high office to be well qualified and ready. We have the results of what happens when you don't get someone who is ready, now in office and we all are dealing with the ultimate hang over of a collective brain freeze each and every day. And, by the way, when it comes to memory lapses, I can stand up and be counted. My wife and I had a family collective lapse where neither of us could remember a particular individual's name. If she had not asked me I could have told her immediately. Maybe that is the solution. Don't ask, don't tell. That way no one will know that you don't know. Of course that wouldn't have helped Governor Perry since he offered up his list and then couldn't remember his own list. Ouch. But, my thought here, is that equal treatment requires that we look at everyone equally. The President has his fare share of misspoken comments, gaffes, and downright absurdities, and to play up the miscues of others while paying no attention to his, well, it's just flat out wrong. I started to say that my wife and I had suffered a community lapse but then the coffee thing would come up again and we would be off and running. In view of all of the above, I vote to pull the plug on today's edition. Let's all hope there's something better just around the bend. And, I'll add my own Amen to that.            .....More later.