F.F.F.T. - Anyone have a Valium I can borrow?

I'm currently in the throes of amassing every single PKU food item that Youngest might need on our 10-day jaunt across half of America. It is times like these that I hate being the Mommy. But amass I must. It's not like I can pick up low pro cheese slices at the local Piggly Wiggly.

Anxiety.

And that was before I sat down to focus on a single topic from this week.

Head exploding.

There is so much happening that honestly I don't know where to begin. Therefore, this week, I'm going with a highlights reel - things that happened the week of June 22, 2009, that you should know...

1. Another politician was caught with his zipper down - turns out South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) was actually banging around the Argentinian bush (sorry, too crass?) instead of knocking around the Appalachian Trail, as his representative claimed. Yet another wife is scrutinized for her role in her husband's infidelity. Yet another resignation called for. Is it just me, or is infidelity one of those things that's easy to grab hold of and act all righteous about? BTW: has anyone heard from John Edwards lately?

2. Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad went in for the low blow and called Obama "Bush-like" (are you noticing a theme this week?). Poor Obama - it's damned if you don't, damned if you don't. Turns out, once you start down the path of hands-off diplomacy, some countries are going to hold you to it. This has been an interesting story to watch, besides the horrible bloodshed of course, in that I think the Administration is learning no matter how much bowing, apologizing, back-stepping you do, there are still going to be some countries who don't play by the rules, and will hate us no matter what. Go figure. I wish I had the answer for this one. How do you solve a problem like Mahmoud? And seriously, what the hell is up with the Memebers Only jacket? No July 4th picnic for you!

3. Kim Jong Il continued to act like an ignored spoiled child by threatening to "wipe out" the U.S. if provoked. Remember that scene in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" when Indiana Jones finally gets exasperated with the situation and just shoots the machete-wielding bad guy? Yeah, that's what I want to see. Dude, just go away!

(side note) Does anyone know if we're still at war in Iraq and Afghanistan? Before the election, body count and media coverage. After the election, none. I know there are a lot of other important things going on, but am I being cynical with this? Please remember our soldiers.

4. President Obama commandeered ABC Wednesday night to not answer a lot of healthcare reform questions. (On a personal note, good call not bumping "Wipeout.") I TiVoed the program in order to learn more about how we're spending even more money we don't have, but after the reviews the next morning, I deleted the damn thing. My current insurance doesn't cover psychotherapy.

5. While we're all sitting around watching 24/7 coverage on the Death of Pop King Michael Jackson, a little ditty going by the name of H.R. 2454 or Waxman-Malarkey, excuse me, Waxman - Markey Bill is being "test" voted upon in the House today (6/26).

In an effort to educate without spin, I'm offering a selection of links in which to pick your poison:

Fox News unbiased take on it.
CNN's unbiased take on it.
Clean Coal's unbiased take on it.
Wall Street Journal's unbiased take on it.
Huffington Post's unbiased take on it.

All the "facts" are important, but this about covers what I want to hear from ALL (D and R) our "leaders" concerning Global Warming and Fossil Fuel elimination...

"Dear ignorant citizens, we're finally going to cut through the b.s. and tell you that this is going to suck. Like in a very big way. We have no definitive information confirming that CO2 is a bad thing, but we do know that our dependency on fossil fuels has got to stop. Therefore, you must prepare yourselves now because the next 30 years or so is going to be recorded in our history books as the "Great Transition." Get used to $5/gallon gasoline and electric bills that rival your mortgage payment. Why are we telling you this? Because we are tired of being the parents that pat their children on the head and say trust us while we lie about how the shot really won't hurt that bad and that the medicine really doesn't taste like bootie. Those millions of jobs we're promising, yeah, those aren't for you. Or even your children. They are for your grandchildren.

You think the "Greatest Generation" made the biggest sacrifices? You ain't seen nothing yet.

But we're America, and we can do this together. So go ahead and sell that big house, get rid of that gas guzzler, and start planting that Victory Garden!! We will prevail! Even if China keeps their economy booming by spewing their pollution all over Mother Earth."

Upate: 10:55 CDT - it passed the test...

6. And finally, we lost three entertainers:
Ed McMahon died (6/23)
Farrah Fawcett died (6/25)
Oh, and Michael Jackson died (6/25)

(In a sign that the Apocalypse is only moments away, I agreed with Hugo Chavez this morning when he stated that Michael Jackson's passing was "lamentable news;" however, the media was giving it far too much attention. FYI: The Today Show is currently pushing into hour two of their tribute.)

I did hear Hugh Hefner breath a sigh of relief and embrace Jackson's death as bittersweet since these things do tend to come in threes.


Well F.F.F.T.ers, I think that just about covers everything. Please let me know if I missed something that caught your attention.

As I mentioned above, Summer Vacation plans have finally arrived!! I cannot wait to stick my toes in the sand, and watch the boys meet Mickey Mouse for the first time. As of now, I'm officially turning off my t.v. and closing down my link to CNN.com. I pray that when I get back to F.F.F.T. (July 17), I will have nothing about which to rant.

Sadly, I'm pretty sure I will.

Friday's Food for Thought" is just an excuse for me to shoot my mouth off on whatever hot button topic happens to be rattling around in my head. Please don't click away mad if I touched a nerve. Call me out if you think I'm full of it. I always enjoy a respectful rebuttal. For F.F.F.T. only, I will post answers in the comment section in order to keep the dialogue open. Peace.

(I'm continuing to welcome anonymous comments - besides you NavyWife. If you're a regular reader, but hesitate to expose your political thoughts, please feel free to leave a comment without your name. Do know that I will be watching though, and will delete anything that's ugly or a personal attack. Let's just be nice though, shall we - I really don't have time for that crap.)