A Generation of Rhetoric

We have ants. Crazy ants. I'm trying to be a good little eco-hippie, though, and NOT respond by spraying toxins all over my house and property.

So we've cleaned up the food in the kitchen that they're attracted to, wiped down the counters with a vinegar and hot water solution, and traced them back to the gap in the window sill they're using to seal it up. It worked... for awhile.

But last night, we left our dirty plates sitting on the counter overnight. And this morning, the bottom plate was BLACK with ants - a thick stream of them marching from the window sill, across the wall, down the cabinet, across the counter, and to the plate. So I was late to work cleaning all that up, getting rid of the ants, and sealing yet another gap.

A really good person (better than I, perhaps) would see this as an opportunity. The ants are helping us find all the gaps in the wall where cold and hot air will enter, and they're also encouraging us to keep the kitchen clean. Sparkling clean, in fact.

But...uggggh!! They're creepy and crawly and gross! And Eric was at the point this morning, though he's been supportive of eco-hippiness before, of suggesting ant killer.

I reminded him that we'd decided they were okay outside, under the deck where they live. It's only coming in that's a problem. He retorts: "Maybe they're not fine under the deck. We must fight them over there so we don't have to fight them here!"

At that point I declared victory since using Bush rhetoric clearly nullified any reasoned argumentation.

Later, though, I bit my own critique. Eric argued that our current counter-ant strategy was no longer succeeding. I countered: "It is working. Our strategy is working, and we will continue stay the course. We are winning against Al-Antae in OurDeq!"

Yeah, I lost that round.

A Nation in Peril

Oh my goodness. This country really is spiraling into decline. What happens when news channels stop broadcasting news and start airing entertainment television? This we know. But what happens when they even manage to spin real issues into some sick parody of Entertainment Tonight?

This is what's being "analyzed" on CNN right now.

"Cleavage Controversy: Clinton Clothes Coverage"

I think I particularly like the use of the word 'coverage' here... like it's breaking news that they're going to stay with for us.

...and the other silly thing? The clothing in question is nothing but a jacket with a scoop neck shell underneath... a rather modest shell, I might add.