1. Gulf Coast Oil Disaster: Where are the benefits, celebrities and such?
I have a couple of friends on Facebook who put up posts asking where are the benefits, money and celebrity spokespeople for the Gulf Coast Oil Disaster? They're right. Where are they?

We as Americans were dialing in money, bringing food and clothes to Haiti and other world disasters. Now, we're facing an oil spill that is devastating the Gulf Coast, and all I hear is crickets. Some parts of Gulf Coast still haven't fully recovered from Katrina and Gustave, and now this happens. The livelihood of many hard-working people has been ruined, the ecosystem has been irreparably damaged, and this blob of doom is creeping toward Florida. At a time when our economic recovery is so close yet so far, this summer's tourist season really could have made a difference bringing in revenue, jobs and hope. Instead, we have empty beaches, dead fish, dying oil-slicked fowl, and whole lotta, "We're gonna try this and hopefully it'll work" attempts at stopping the gushing well, all of which have failed. The last attempt appears to be working somewhat, but the damage has been done, and the repercussions will be felt for years. We can yell all we want about how there should have been a Crisis Management Plan in place, who is truly responsible, blah blah blah, but that's not going to help the Americans directly affected by this mess. BP swears they are going to compensate those who are losing financially, but that is not going to help the overall recovery of the coastal area. What about next year? What about the ecological damage? Can we put a price on that?

Granted, it can be argued that the public was not advised just how bad it truly was. But now that cat is out of the bag, and we, as Americans, should be stepping up to help our own. I realize that we're not talking about the loss of home and human life, and BP should be footing every expense related to this. But understand the claims process - it can take weeks, maybe even months, to review and settle such claims, and that's not going to help a family in need right now. There has to be a way for willing and able Americans to donate to those folks, help clean up, help the affected animal/aquatic life, or somehow be able to assist in the slowing the spread of the slick. It is hard to know where to begin, but if you think that the crisis in (our own) Gulf will not affect the country as a whole you are fooling yourself, and as human beings we should be showing some solidarity for an area of our own country that just can't seem to catch a break.

2. Right-Wingnuts bitching about Obama not going to Arlington.
Again, I am a moderate Independent, not a Democrat. I am not a Obama groupie. That said, I am so sick of the whining and grousing of the Right-Wingers who jumped all up Obama ass for not going to Arlington for Memorial Day. You would think they would research this topic before they started going beserko (that's the only way to describe it - they really lose their shit over stuff like this and it's borderline crazy), but perhaps they were counting on their Sheeple spreading more Mighty-Righty propaganda and not fact-checking. Here's some info for you: Obama is not the first president to miss the Arlington ceremony. Ronald Reagan spoke at West Point one year and went to his California ranch another year (Yaahooo! Fuck them Veterans!) Um, what about the other SIX YEARS?? Hmmm. George H.W. Bush did not go at all (disgraceful - especially since he is a war veteran) but he did send Dan Quayle once, which somehow makes a slight an absolute insult. Bill Clinton, who's military stint was unremarkable, went to Arlington all eight years. Dumbass Dubya, who dodged combat service in Vietnam, attended from 2003 onward, probably in an attempt to make up for his Dad. If I were a Veteran, I would find that insulting. Your Dad, who did serve, doesn't go at all, used his money to help you dodge true enlistment, and then you have the nerve to show up with your fake sympathy? If Dubya never went to Arlington, I couldn't even be mad at that - send someone who truly gives a shit or actually knew what it was like to serve. Like many other topics in this life, however, he hasn't a clue.

But I digress. Should Obama have gone to Arlington? ABSOLUTELY. That was an opportunity to show his respect for the troops past and present, and show his patriotism. Yes, he did other things to honor our troops that day, but some traditions he needs to stick to as President to appease the hardcore, the old-fashioned, a yes, the Right. Especially when they are looking for any little thing to rag him on. Especially when they're still riding that whole Muslim/Socialist schtick. Why add fuel to their fire? It wasn't a good call. However, the Right were just a little premature to blog until their fingers bled about Obama not showing up at Arlington, when their own Republican Presidents have a spotty attendance record at best. It's hypocrisy at its finest, and shame on them for using Memorial Day, a day to honor our servicemen and women, as a means to further their own anti-Obama agenda. Pathetic.

3. People who hand-write loooonnng...business letters!
In communication these days everything is so impersonal now. With emails, Word docs, e-cards nothing seems to have a personal touch. So it's great getting something from time to time that is hand-written and signed for by someone you know and care about. However, what is NOT cool is getting a BUSINESS letter from a client that I don't know from a hole in the wall, whose situation I'm (trying) to read for the first time, that is 3 pages long and hand-written...on fax cover sheets. Oh, but it gets better. In the documentation (in which all of her communication is hand-written) she chastises someone - who was visiting a foreign country for the first time - for not locating a Internet Cafe to send her an email, but she couldn't locate a keyboard to type a professional letter representing her business and her problem? Really? Potential and current business owners, take note. The only hand-written thing on a business communication should be your SIGNATURE. You are not a doctor and I am not a nurse or a pharmacist who has to decipher your chicken scratch, so keep your crappy handwriting to yourself. Maybe you got a gold star for penmanship back in grade school, but this is 2010, and I don't see how you expect anyone to take you or your business seriously when you can't send out a typed letter on business stationery.

4. Players
I have a girlfriend complaining about this guy she's seeing. He fancies himself a playa, which he kinda is (I've seen better - he's not nearly as smooth as he thinks he is). She didn't think she could change him as much as she hoped once he was done running around, he would see what a keeper she was, and could possibly have him to herself one day. In the meantime, she knew what she was getting into, so she doesn't expect any sympathy when he roughshods over her feelings or bangs her friends. But her choosing to mess around with a guy who could never be faithful and she would never truly be able to trust isn't the peeve. My peeve is the man himself and men like him. They appear to be on a never ending quest to plug every orifice on every woman they set their eyes on. One can argue that men have an instinctive need to spread their seed, and I have to say I don't completely disagree with that. But many times it isn't some biological drive that motivates these men. Sex is a game, a competition, or fills some unrequited need (get therapy, son!). Sure, a lot of the women they fool around with are common whores, but in their sexual rampaging they break the hearts of some wonderful women who looked deep enough into their soul to see some good there. Instead of respecting that - and them - these women get tossed aside and filed away according to performance and availability. And it sucks to see that. What's even sadder is when these men age and their libido subsides, they'll want that good woman. Now that he's worn out, used up, possibly with several illegitmate children that have broken him financially, he'll want that woman who gave him everything he ultimately needed and was willing to give him whatever he wanted. Now that he has nothing left, he'll want that comfort and security. By then, she has learned to live with the scar on her heart and moved on, and if she's smart, found a man who appreciated all she had to offer. Sadly, I've seen a couple of women who never found the right man take these men in. Men that never gave them a second look back in the day, or considered them "the last option". Or "saw" for a few weeks until he saw another woman he found more appealing. Or kept her around because he knew she would always be there for him and she would ultimately forgive/accept his transgressions and insensitivity. It isn't fair that she would allow herself to accept a shell of a man who brings nothing to her later on but baggage, and probably couldn't even give her the passionate thrill that made her fall for him in the first place. Good women, don't let that be you. You deserve better - now AND later. Men who use women like that deserve to end up alone. Some women would rather have any man than be alone, but think about it. While loneliness sucks, it beats being played - again - by a man who has previously broken your heart, and shows up later with even less to offer you than before.