things that are bugging me right now

Why did Jessica Lynch receive a Bronze Star? I can understand her Purple Heart and the POW medals (which I'm sure most soldiers would rather not be eligible for), but a Bronze Star? Nothing I've seen has indicated WHY she got a Bronze Star. Seems to devalue the medal, to award it for no reason. Unless they're now giving it away to anyone who goes along with the Pentagon bullshit machine.

Why do certain charities spend so much money on paper? I signed up for Working Assets long distance because some percentage goes toward causes I support. But I've been inundated with paper from them. Lots and lots of paper, mainly trying to get me to get others to join or offering books or other crap I will never order. Why can't they just save a few trees and make all this stuff downloadable or something, and put the stamp/printing money toward one of those causes they brag about supporting?

But worse than Working Assets is Amnesty International. I gave them $20. And I've been rewarded with an avalanche of dead trees -- most begging for more money or printing the crappy glossy magazine that I doubt anyone ever reads. I don't want this shit -- I want my $20 to help someone who needs help. If I could have afforded more, I would've donated more to begin with -- stop bugging me! If I'd had any idea that the $20 I donated would be spent setting the begging machine in motion, I would've sent it to UNICEF or to a soup kitchen. That's where my next donation is going to go, I think, to a soup kitchen. Or I'll just go buy some crap I don't really need at the Goodwill.

And last, though certainly not least, is our mayor, Alex Knopf (Norwalk, CT). Who ran on and was elected for just two issues: traffic and taxes. Since he was elected, traffic has gotten worse, not better. Money has been spent on studies, but we haven't seen any enforcement of the bloody existing traffic regulations here on Strawberry Hill Avenue. Traffic has gotten even heavier and faster than ever and nobody seems to know the rules for driving on a one-lane road. This is the ONLY thing that has been done to attempt to deal with traffic (it was posted in front of Nathan Hale Middle School, our next-door neighbor):

sign.jpg


Aside from the idiotic grammatical error (they took down the sign and painted out the "Your" since this photo was taken), what is the point of this sign? It is always flashing except when the light is red. How much did these stupid signs cost? Why can't they just put up stop signs at Tierney and Strawberry Hill Avenue, which would cut the speeding down considerably? Why do the freaking city buses make the signs flash like crazy?

Taxes: Knopf said he'd do something about taxes. So what happened? Of course: our tax bill went UP. He claimed the sewer tax wouldn't increase our tax bill. Yeah, right -- so why did it? So are we better off with Knopf as mayor than we were with Emperor Esposito as mayor? Not that I can see. How many of the big boxes lining the Post Road and Main Street are paying enough in taxes to justify the huge burdens they impose on the city infrastructure? Bet the amount hasn't gone up even one point since the previous administration opened the door for them.

There are more things bugging me, but this is enough for now.

I really, really can't wait until we go to Michigan. We leave in exactly one month.
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