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Observation. Can you catch alcoholism? Do I need to be careful around an alcoholic to make sure I don’t wake up tomorrow with a mental obsession that causes a physical compulsion to drink alcohol? Do people who have never tasted an alcoholic beverage, wake up one day with a craving for alcohol? Is there a rehabilitation center where you can learn to manage cancer so you will not die from it? It seems that alcoholism is a mental disorder, not a disease.

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Observation. People say, "that was an easy question" when what they really mean to say is that, "the answer to that question was easy." A complicated or difficult to understand question may have a easy answer, or an easy to understand question may have a difficult answer. Due to the circumstances, a question may be easy for a person to ask but difficult for another person to answer, and vice versa.

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Observation. American Idol is similar to American elections:

• Anyone can vote, regardless of citizenship.

•  It is possible for one person to vote many times.

• Professional ability or personal integrity means little; voters are influenced more by personality, ethnicity, personal appearance, hometown, etc.

• Everyone has an opinion as to who should win, but very few people actually vote.

• Improper voting schemes abound to try to influence the vote.

• Candidates are made over to appeal to the voting constituency; even it does reflect the real person.

• Personal appearances and statements are geared toward pleasing the crowd in attendance, even if it involves lies or deceit.

• Everyone involved with entire process is only concerned with winning so as to gain more power or more money, no matter what it takes to achieve it; everything else that is said or done is just fluff engineered to achieve a win so everyone may gain more power or money.

• The winner is not necessarily the best for the job, but rather the best at attaining the job.

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Observation. I am certainly no fan of Rosie O’Donnell. She is a hypocrite who uses her celebrity position to bully people who do not agree with her. For example, she attacks people who legally carry a firearm for protection, while her bodyguards carry firearms to protect her. Her reason for this is that she is a celebrity who needs protection, while ordinary people do not rate the same protection. However, I think she has been falsely accused in a recent case where she allegedly offended Asia Americans.

While commenting about the uproar about when a hung-over Danny Devito appeared on her television show The View, and constantly maligned the President, she said it was news all over the world. She said, “You can imagine in China, it’s like ‘ching chong, ching chong chong, Danny Devito, ching chong chong chong, drunk, The View, ching chong.’” These comments supposedly offended Chinese Americans.

Give me a break! When Davito repeatedly insulted the President of the United States, Chinese Americans said nothing, but when O’Donnell imitated the language of a Communist country, she is accused of offending Chinese-speaking people everywhere. Chinese Americans should be more offended by Devito’s remarks about the President of their current, free, democratic country than they are about O’Donnell’s imitating the language of their previous, oppressive, Communist country.

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Observation. An editorial in the 12/26/05 edition of USA Today criticized first lady Laura Bush for not disclosing that she had a squamous skin cancer removed from her leg until the press brought it up. The editorial said that she had passed up an opportunity to educate the public on the hazards of skin cancer. However, it appears that the real problem was that the press felt neglected in that they were not given the opportunity to exploit a minor problem that was neither their, nor the public’s, business. If the press is so concerned about educating the public about skin cancer, let them do so; and stop criticizing others when they choose to keep their medical problems private..

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Observation. I heard Senator Kennedy say today, “workers have waited ten years for a increase in the minimum wage.” If you have been a worker for the last ten years and you are still earning the minimum wage, then you have more problems in life than any increase in the minimum wage will ever be able to cure. Stop waiting for an increase in the minimum wage, get off your dead ass and do what it takes to earn a better wage

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Observation. Tom Krattenhammer’s commentary “A witness to what faith can be,” in The Forum section of the 12/18/06 edition of USDA Today was about a group of Christians who wash the feet of homeless people in Portland, Oregon to show that they care about them. Whoopee! This really helps the plight of the homeless. They are still homeless but they have clean feet for a day. These self-righteous “do gooder” volunteers may sleep in blissful ignorance thinking they have done something for the homeless, but they have actually accomplished nothing. If the volunteers want to help the homeless, they should show them how to get a job so they may get themselves a home. If the homeless reject this assistance, then it is their choice to remain homeless.

Comments. David says (11/22/07). While today foot washing is just symbolic, in the time of Jesus that was a gesture of hospitality provided by hosts to guests in their home. Since everyone wore sandals, their feet would get dirty in the course of a day and a good host would provide a servant to wash his guests' feet. That was a symbol of humility, for someone who is believed to be the son of God, to wash the feet of others. I agree, though, that today it serves as more of a symbolic gesture than a matter of help.