Watergate revisited - not

Wow. A major situation has just broken. Classified government information has been leaked. You work for a major newspaper. What do you do?
1. Come up with a fun-sounding name. Wikileaks. Check.
2. Focus on the importance of said information being released. Naw, too boring. Focus on how this is an embarassment to the White House. Check.
3. Attack Obama for not knowing about the leak even though it was probably done by one private in an army of tens of thousands. Check.
4. Claim to have some expert in the field of leaked classified information offer a few important-sounding quotes for your already lame story. Check.

I'm so glad I don't work in the news business anymore.

Justin who?

I, for the life of me, cannot understand the hoopla surrounding Justin Bieber. Here are five reasons I wish Bieber fever would just go away:

1. He's 16, and sounds like a 12-year-old girl when he sings. Seriously.
2. He LOOKS like a 11-year-old boy. I'm just waiting for the acne to pop up. Goodbye
     pop sensation, hello ProActive salesman.
3. His hair. 'Nough said. I just want to take a pair of clippers and shave it all off. Then, to
     top it all off, New England Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady, who has to be about 150
     years old, now has Bieber hair. And to top THAT off ...
4. He tried to rap. Apparently, he got REAL upset over Brady's hair, and included a
     reference to it in a rap song.Are you freaking kidding me? He sounded like a 16-year-
     old white kid trying to rap.
5. He has a tattoo. Now, I like tattoos, but this was ridiculous. After getting mommy's
     permission, Bieber was allowed to get a seagull tattooed on his front hip.
     Awww.
     Not.
     Now, get out your magnifying glasses, because you will need them ... the tattoo is that
     tiny.

Happy Thanksgiving

I love this time of year, not because of the food, but because it is the official unofficial start of the holiday season. Tonight I will get up at some God-awful time and stand in a store for hours to get those gifts that are on sale.

To my family and friends, I hope you have a great holiday. To the people at Wal-Mart, let me say a quick "sorry" for stepping on you, running you over, pushing you out of the way, etc. I just really needed that electronic.

Teacher's pet peeves

I hate living in a town so close to a college that I can't stand; when it comes to football teams that it. It's great to be a Gator-hater, as long as you don't live 40 miles from the university.

One of my daily pleasures is getting up in the morning and reading my newspaper. I know, I'm an old fogey - no one reads newspapers anymore. Well, I do. Lately, it's been annoying. Why? Well, I'm glad you asked.

The Gators are not playing well this year. They lost most of their team when Tebow graduated, so they are struggling. Before last weekend, they had lost three in a row. Then, they faced Georgia and squeaked out a win. You would have thought the world had turned upside down. Every day since the win, the sports section of the newspaper has been riddled with stories about how the coach has turned things around, how the team has finally found their groove, etc.

Uh...hello? The Gators won by a field goal. In overtime. Because of a Georgia mistake. Period. We did not see the return of greatness to the team. We saw a struggling team squeak out a victory against another struggling team.

Now, the focus is on Vanderbilt. One article alluded that Saturday's game would be a defining moment for Florida. That the return to greatness will continue on Saturday. Against Vanderbilt. Are you kidding me?

Whatever. As one of my friends put it: It's kind of nice seeing Florida struggle this year.

Election day ... at least it's over

I had a student ask me the other day about my choices on election day. I did not respond. I couldn't. That would be unethical. My silence started a conversation between the students, however. They are 9th-graders ... much too young to vote.

Several students were spreading their hatred of Obama, while others were disagreeing. I wondered why they had political opinions at that age. Most likely, those opinions were not theirs, but their parents'. That is sad. Being taught how to think at such a young age.

I was lucky; my parents allowed me to form my own opinions. I was well into my teens before I knew what party affiliation they trusted. I made my own decisions, and have lived my life allowing others to form their own opinions without my input. When I am asked what candidate I would vote for, I simply discuss the candidates' stands on the issues (usually education), and move on. How I wish others would do the same.

So many people went to the polls blind yesterday. They had not researched the issues; they simply voted their party. That was not the point of the democratic system. This should not be a class or party war, but a well-thought-out decision based on who is best for the job.

Maybe some day...