maarmie's musings

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

The Chump has Jumped

Urbandictionary.com, an online slang dictionary by the people and for the people, has a new entry that has recently been used by The New York Times' own Maureen Dowd to describe the prez. According to her, Bush has "jumped the couch."

The term "jumping the couch" brings to mind recent Cruise-crazy behavior on the Oprah show when speaking of his lovely new paramour from that TV show that involves lots of young privileged snots acting morose. That's what the term intends to bring to mind according to the two definitions listed on Urbandictionary.com.

1. Jumping the Couch

The defining moment when you know someone has gone off the deep end. Inspired by Tom Cruise's behaviour on Oprah. Source: Asher77, Melbourne Australia, Aug 8, 2005

2. Jumping the Couch

1. The realization that someone has gone off the deep end. 2. Acting wildly foolish.Source: LucySkyDiamonds, S.A., El Salvador, Aug 5, 2005

Dowd espouses that Bush has definitely and irrevocably jumped the couch as evidenced by the continued bloodshed in Iraq, oblivious to the growing tide of Americans who not only oppose it but are likely soon to visibly oppose it. Anyone heard of Vietnam?

Disgustingly, White House reporters would rather grill out with our idiot president than grill him with questions about his decisions and indecisions. They attended a cookout at his ranch on Aug. 25. To get to the waiting food, drinks and the cool water of his swimming pool, they had to sidestep Cindy Sheehan and the multiplying numbers of average citizens who have traveled to Crawford, Texas, to perhaps cause the president to raise an eyebrow or at least think about the ongoing atrocity abroad. That hasn't happened yet.

Just as the public is coming out more visibly against the war, so are pop culture icons. Green Day has an anti-war song, and so does the Rolling Stones. In the Washington Post, Gary Hart started off a recent op-ed piece with this line from an anti-Vietnam War song, "Waist-deep in the Big Muddy, and the big fool said to push on."

Enough said.

We are mad as hell, George, and, soon, we will be cohesive enough to possibly do something about it. Do you really want to keep pushing your luck?

Friday, August 19, 2005

maarmie is Never Outdated

maarmie's back, for now, at least, to bring you a very important update. It seems the term "minority" and to whom it is applied is being questioned and challenged as of late. In today's newspaper, demographers are pondering the notion of the term "minority" as being outdated in today's society.

It seems there are places in this country - Texas, California, New Mexico, Hawaii and Washington, D.C., to be specific - where blacks outnumber whites, and Hispanics (I hate that word) outnumber everyone. Can the term "minority" be applied in these places the same way it has always been?

I say "yes." A conditional "yes."

I used to get annoyed, and still sometimes do, when women are referred to as "minorities." After all, we make up 52 percent of the population, so, clearly, we're in the majority. However, the balance of power in this world has some power in deciding what constitutes a majority and what constitutes a minority, in my opinion.

When I lived in NYC, I saw a want ad in the newspaper proclaiming at the bottom that women and other minorities were encouraged to apply. I was livid. I called the phone number to explain to the HR director that there are more women than men. However, taking into account the unequal hiring practices and pay rate decisions that are still alive and well in 2005, women are a group that needs special protection under the law as are blacks, gays, lesbians, disabled people and individuals from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.

Where there is power, there continues to be older, white males. All others are minorities and should be protected as such until the balance of power has shifted.