re: Manners

I don't know about your parents, but mine taught me to say "thank you" when someone does something to help me out, particularly if it would be to save my ungrateful butt from being tortured and murdered by the very people you think you are helping.

When our Armed Forces risks their lives in to rescue your sorry ass, it's just plain bad manners not to ackowledge it, regardless of how you feel about the foreign policy of their leaders.

Christianity is all about grace. And that grace should also be extended to those who have saved you, not to slap them back in the face by calling them "occupiers" and refusing to acknowledge the effort by merely saying you've been "released."

I'm reminded of a speech from Jack Nicholson in the film A FEW GOOD MEN:

And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post.

Remember, you could be sitting hogtied on a cold and dirty floor looking at your captors in hooded masks as they approach you with a bloody dull knife and a video camera.

re: Now's your chance

Dear Madame Secretary. The time is right. America is waiting for the first woman leader to take the helm. We all know it. Your name has been bandied about. And it's no secret that you want the job. And any other person of your calibre has to known you can beat them out hands down.

So, now that his tenure is coming to an end, will you answer the call?

re: T.O. JUST SAY NO

Jerry. I'm still reeling from the cutting of Keyshawn in favor of the team cancer that is Terrell Owens. No, granted, Keyshawn's performance over the past few years hasn't been hall of fame calibre, and he's always had work ethic issues dogging him.



But Terrell Owens? This so-called "professional" has no respect for the game (he proved that in both San Francisco and especially, Philly) and certainly no respect for the Cowboys. Let's not forget his stunt on the 50 Yard Line star a few years back?

I mean, I know the offense has a major need at WR, and we haven't really had a playmaker since Emmitt, but Jerry, do you really thing that Leon is the answer? I mean, serious, there is the "I" in T-E-A-M when it comes to Terrell Owens.

re: The iTunes/iPod Monopoly

Mack. Mack, Mack, Mack. It grieves me to write this memo to you since I consider you a kindred spirit. However, advocating an iTunes monopoly? Brother. Where's your spirit of competition? France is RIGHT to require iTunes to open it's service up to more than just the iPod.

There are those who, like myself, prefer not to pad Steve Jobs ego by paying a premium for his over designed and over priced mp3 player. We choose the competition for the very reason that the iPod is too expensive. Why shouldn't itunes be open to us to make our music purchases? I mean, can you picture a world where certain television channels would only be viewable on a SONY TV? Or MS Word only available for a PC? Need I remind you that one of the things that saved Apple's bacon was the Microsoft Office Suite (and a key stock purchase of Apple by Gates himself)?

It's no secret that the "cult of Apple" doesn't want the rif raff in. And sadly, Mack, I fear you may have been corrupted by it.

Re: ROLLING THE HARD SIX

HOLY FRACK.

RDM. You sir, ARE the Cylon God. BattleStar Galactica's last season II episode - Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II, is not only a stroke of genius, but the kind of risk you are taking with the ending is something not only stretches your series, but stretches the audience who so easily want formula television.

Many fans will resist the new direction you are taking with it. I'm not. I want you to push me. I want you to piss me off. I want you to rewrite my expectations and then let me deal with the fallout.

You have done this from the very beginning and I have never regretted it.
I haven't felt this way since the end of EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. All my hero's are screwed and I have to wait and figure out how they get out of it!

Go ahead and roll the hard six, Senior. Because I've got a "C" note on you.