Random thoughts, volume two

November 18, 4:34 PMPittsburgh Public Policy ExaminerPatricia O'Malley

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·       This business about President Obama bowing to Japanese Emperor Akihito is just another piece of the Republicans’ distraction campaign.  It’s the same thing as a handshake. If I enter a mosque, I will remove my shoes. I may cover my hair. I will not wear a burqa. We each have to decide where we will draw the line. America is the same place today as it was last week. Is America really so weak that the president’s simple gesture of courtesy can bring it all crashing down around us?

·       A basic knowledge of civics  should be required for high school graduation.

·       If we stop lying to our kids that marijuana is dangerous, then maybe they’ll believe that heroin really is dangerous.

·       Another Republican distraction is the claim that Obama can’t be commander-in-chief because he never served in the military. So if we follow that “logic”, then every president must be a diplomat, financier, economist, supreme court justice, attorney, rancher, environmentalist, engineer, farmer, corporate executive, small business owner, labor leader, IRS agent, historian, securities dealer, prison inmate, librarian, social worker, geologist, artist, mail carrier, real estate developer, airline pilot, doctor, commercial fisherman, bus driver, meteorologist, oil wildcatter, nuclear physicist, teacher, spy, police officer, astronaut, and legislator. She/he also has to look good in a suit, dance well, and have some endearing quality. Only Barbie could pull that off.  This argument has always been stupid. That's what the cabinet,  joint chiefs of staff,  and executive office of the president are for.

·       Some people are too stupid to be walking around loose.