Hope-y, Change-y and all that

Sarah Palin, who has repeatedly castigated President Obama for using a Tele-Prompter, was recently seen giving a speech with notes written on her palm. Ummmm...

Satiating liberals, the notes were not obscure points one would be likely to forget, but rather the colloquial terms "Energy" "Tax" and "Lift American Spirits." Now, as much as I don't support Palin politcally, I'm sure she could memorize these words fairly quickly. So either she spent minimal time preparing for the speech, or she was so incredibly nervous that she wouldn't be able to remember anything she memorized. Either option is not particularly comforting.

Instead of surreptitiously using handwritten notes, she should have just rescinded her prior statement about the President and used the Tele-Prompter. But she chose not to.

Her cynical attitude towards Obama's goals of hope and change is depressing. Hope is something Americans should strive for whether or not it happens because of President Obama or under the leadership of a Republican president. Calling Obama's whole plan "hope-y and change-y" was completely unnecessary. Is she seriously prompting a lack of hope just because the Democrats use the word as well?

And now conservatives are crying foul over Press Secretary Gibbs' mockery of Palin. "I wrote a few things down. {shows his palm with scrawled words to the audience} I wrote eggs, milk and bread...And then I wrote down hope and change, just in case I forgot."

Semper Fi

In Memory of Marine Sergeant Christopher Hrbek

Sergeant Hrbek of Westwood was killed by an IED in Afghanistan on January 14th, 2010. Read the news article here.

I'd like to thank him and all of our men and women overseas for their many sacrifices.

*Headslap*

I am officially obsessed with the television show NCIS. Not many people around here watch the show, which is surprising because it is the #1 scripted drama on TV.

NCIS stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the show follows the members of the agency's Major Case Response Team. The combination of the agents' relationships and the cases they solve makes the show so fantastic.

Characters:

**Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs - As the main protagonist of the series, Gibbs is the most experienced agent and acts as a father-figure to his team. He was a Gunnery Sergeant in the Marines during Desert Storm and is stoic when dealing with the stress of his job as Special Agent in Charge.

**Special Agent Tony DiNozzo - Tony is the Senior Field Agent on the team (and doesn't let the other team members forget it). Portrayed as the comical, suave, ladies-man, Tony seems childish but he's loyal and completely serious when the team is threatened. Tony is Gibbs' right-hand man and yet receives the majority of Gibbs' headslaps.

**Probationary Special Agent Ziva David - Contrary to what her title suggests, Ziva (pronounced Zee-vah) has been with the NCIS team for years. She was the Mossad Liaison on the team until she applied for US citizenship and Special Agent status. As a former assassin, she is extremely experienced in the fields of weapons, defense and the Middle East.

**Special Agent Tim McGee - McGee started out as the computer genius on the team with little field experience, able to solve the most cryptic of cyphers but not the best at apprehending suspects. However, the Junior Field Agent has improved his fieldwork greatly under the guidance of Gibbs and Tony.

**Forensic Specialist Abby Scuito - As Gibbs' favorite, the ebullient goth (yes...she is always happy yet she dresses in all black and has around twenty tattoos) receives the bulk of his praise and gifts of Caf-Pow. Although her appearance is deceiving, she is extremely qualified for her job, and her discoveries often solve the team's cases.

**Medical Examiner Donald Mallard - Known as "Ducky" to the team, Dr. Mallard performs the victims' autopsies and shares his findings, which often help to identify the killers, with Gibbs. Ducky can be described as anything but laconic, providing the team with long, rambling stories of his adventures that relate to almost any topic.

**Assistant Medical Examiner Jimmy Palmer - Palmer is a bit of a maladroit when he's in Gibbs' presence because the agent intimidates him to no end. As Ducky's apprentice, however, he is extremely competent and on occasion provides insights that Ducky overlooks.

**Director Leon Vance - Vance is the most controversial character on the show, often butting heads with Gibbs. He earned the disdain of some fans when he terminated Gibbs' team in search of an agency mole. Although the team was reinstated, both the agents and the fans still don't completely trust the Director.

I would recommend NCIS to EVERYONE. It's an amazing show that always lives up to expectations. For those who are interested, new episodes air Tuesdays at 8pm on CBS and reruns air on USA and Ion Networks.

America the Beautiful????

Americans have the more municipal waste per capita than any other country in the world. And this is after we started to "go-green."

The Go-Green frenzy has lured Americans into a false sense of environmental protection. Behemoths of trash (like in the photo at the right) still pervade the landscape in much of our country, contrary to popular belief. Sure, we think that the go-green phenomenon has changed the ways Americans consume. But has it really? Be wary of people who say the environmental crisis is over. It's far from it.

I am not trying to be supercilious. Sometimes it is impossible to buy something that is completely green. But in many cases, companies continue to overproduce and overpackage, hurting the earth and outweighing any good that environmentalists attempt to do. I mean, does meat really need to be packaged with a Styrofoam plate, a sheet of paper and plastic wrap? In Europe, they just use plastic wrap to package meat, so it's an attainable goal to cut out the Styrofoam and paper. And name-brand cereals use a plastic bag and a box to hold their products. And for what reason? Cheaper cereals already come in only a bag, so what's the problem? And the worst part is, these companies are overt in their disregard for the environment. They do not attempt to use less packaging, nor do they use safer production methods. Americans need to demand a more environmentally friendly approach from our nations corporations.

Cut down on the packaging. Cut down on the waste. Eradicate unsafe environmental practices. For good.