What's in a name? With Weiner, apparently a lot.

It would seem that it is still news that adults behave badly in public.  It shouldn't be. After all, the entire fake "Reality Television" industry is based on people who are willing to be just awful every week at 9, 8 Central, for the million dollar prize, or at least for the chance to be on tv and get noticed by...someone? 
Rational people might argue that former Congressman Anthony Weiner, now running for Mayor of New York, should be one person who is incredibly careful about his behavior.  Not so.  You know the situation.  Ol' Tony, wife at home and pregnant, was entertaining himself by tweeting (hate that term) pictures of things better kept out of the ironically named smartphone.  Which led to the resignation and sort of apology that we have come to expect in such cases.  "If anyone has been offended..."  Somehow the apology for offending always sounds to me to be a little accusatory at the person(s) offended, rather than an apology for the actual bad behavior, but that's just me.
Now, he's had another press conference, wife by his side still (and getting thrashed for it, as though this is all her fault!), but has not removed himself from the New York City Mayor's race.  Yet.  It seems that you can take the sexter out of Congress, but you can't take the ironically named smartphone away from the sexter.  Yes, Tony was sending more "lewd messages" to at least three other women, even after losing a seat in the House for having done precisely that earlier.  Although, these days, there might be other members of the House that would consider such to bail out of the Temple of Boehner.
And now, the aftermath.  I'm sick and tired of hearing people talk about sex addiction.  Tiger Woods cheated serially on his wife, so he went to a sex addiction clinic.  Now Anthony Weiner is being diagnosed by the brilliant talking heads who can often barely read.  Addiction is a bitch.  I've seen its effects.  So have you.  This ain't that.
I suppose that every man, left to his own devices, pardon the expression, would act just like Anthony Weiner, Tiger Woods, Bill Clinton, the guy we roomed with in college, and multitudes of other fellows who seem shameless.  And every now and then most of us might, for a second or too, think that those guys were having all the fun.  But the reality is that those of us who aren't sending those texts/tweets/facebook posts, aren't hitting on every Waffle House waitress we see, are remembering that the interns at our place of business are the age of our daughters, if not granddaughters, are actually the men who are getting life right.
We are the ones trying to set an example for younger guys, who might someday be dating our daughters and granddaughters.  We are the ones trying to show a little respect to the women who are in the places that our mothers, sisters, daughters and granddaughters have found themselves in time and again.  We are the ones trying to do our thinking at the correct end of things.
We can debate why that is.  Are we afraid of getting caught?  Maybe.  Although if you're doing anything online and think it will be kept private, you're a fool.  Are we repressed and hung-up?  Maybe.  And if so, thank goodness for it.  If we want to be anything more than instinctual animals, motivated only by the biological imperative to reproduce, or at least go through the motions, then grow up boys!
Otherwise, we're just like Weiner.
You know, a dick.   

An Irrelevant Anniversary

I missed my anniversary! June 16 marked the completion of my second year as a free man. I can report that life has become joyous to the point that the only time I think about the earlier misery is when someone asks about it. I'm not really sure what is being sought when church is brought up to me. Do I miss it? No, and I don't think any thinking person would, if they removed themselves from that life for a time. Do I miss preaching? No, my adult children were once teenagers; that was all of the having my every word ignored that I'll ever need. Do I miss the labor relations? Not even close, as I have found honest people with a genuine mission and real integrity to work for, which is pretty much all I ever asked.
I'll be starting my third year in a local school district in about six weeks. This year I'll be working with a High School class of special needs kids. I'm excited to have the opportunity to encourage and assist people who are open to and appreciative of that assistance. I deeply admire teachers and all that they accomplish under the most difficult of circumstances. It is a privilege to support and assist them in their work.
So, there it is. No more sleepless nights. No more headaches. No more pointless and unnecessary aggravation. The worst thing I've had to deal with in two years is Comcast. That's a pretty good life, by any definition!
And a vast improvement over the interminably fraudulent organization of previous decades' efforts.

The Eloquence of La Deen

The speculation was raging, on at least one media outlet tonight, on how much damage Paula Deen has done to her career with the reporting on Ms. Deen's deposition in which she acknowledged using the "n-word" and various other revelations that seem out of step with the racial proprieties of this century. Or the last one.
Damage? Seriously?
In the eyes of, oh, about 92% of white southern christians, Ms. Deen's comments qualify her for sainthood. The very fact that she is being sued for racial discrimination makes her a respected, sympathetic victim. Wanting to stage a wedding with black men standing about in slave costume? Why, that's just standing up for tradition!
In the party that has a candidate currently running for lieutenant governor who actually said this week that blacks were better off as slaves than they are receiving food stamps, she's far more likely to be nominated for President than Chris Christie is.
Damaged? Paula Deen has never in her greasy, bigoted life been in a better career position!
She knows her audience!