Rants, Raves and Observations before the 4th

This entry may be all over the place, but I have a lot of thoughts rolling around that don't necessarily merit an entire entry themselves so.... Here it goes.

Quiznos - Screwing up their menu! In the past few weeks, Quiznos Subs (most notably the one at 12th and I St. NW, Washington DC) has pared their menu in an apparent attempt to simplify things for their ummmm... Ingles challenged staff. Who loses? The customer! The irony of this is.... the two favorite subs of mine that I can no longer get there are The Baja and The Cabo Chicken. Pair that with myriad Health Department violations and brief closures the past few weeks, and it's safe to say I need to take my business elsewhere. Sad.


Public Restrooms - What the hell is wrong with the general "public" when they get out into the world? Do they lose their minds? Throwing trash on the floor, pissing on a toilet seat with no regard for the person that may need to actually sit there to take care of business later on, or worse yet, pissing on the FLOOR! People always complain about how nasty public restrooms are, yet many of these same people treat them in the same careless manner as the rest of John Q. Public. Talk about a bio-hazard. If people would treat these places with just a modicum of decency and respect, they would not be the cesspools that most of them are. It's pretty simple really. Don't pee on the floor. RAISE THE SEAT of the toilet before you pee! Just use your foot if you don't want to touch it, but RAISE the damn SEAT. And please, if you have a movement... FLUSH, just like you would at home. I know this will do nothing to correct this problem, but it's a good vent anyway. :)

President Bush Commutes Libby's Sentence - This just smacks of more cronyism that has been the hallmark of the current administration from the get-go. You can be sure that a full pardon will be given on Bush's way out the door (if not sooner). And I thought Nixon left a trail of shit behind him.... Tricky Dick will look like a patron saint in comparison by the end of Bush's eight years in office. I suppose history will have to be the true judge of this president, but from the cheap seats things haven't looked this bleak for the USA's standing in the world in a long time. The USA's reputation in the international community has been tarnished for perhaps a generation or more. While I'm still proud to be an American, I'm not very proud of how my country has used its influence lately. Oh, by the way, Happy 4th of July! :) Isn't it great that we still have the right to talk trash about our leaders without fear of retribution or reprisal? I just hope Karl Rove or Cheney don't read this entry, or the previous sentence may be rendered moot.

Rags To Riches Wins The Belmont Stakes - What a race! It was awesome to see this little filly take on the mighty Curlin in the final leg of the Triple Crown races and prevail! Just goes to show you that the best races are run when the best horses are entered, regardless of sex. I'm not sure how it came to be that only the rare filly is entered into the Triple Crown races, but I think it would be better for racing in general if we saw more action like we saw in the Belmont this year. It was an inspirational run by Rags To Riches.

Clark W. Griswold - Since it is tourist season here in the nation's capital, once again the city is awash with families wandering around lost, looking for the White House which is, invariably, not where I am. Nevertheless, while I am outside getting a breath of air, I am consistently asked where various Washington landmarks are. I don't mind directing people to the general area of the monuments, since by and large this city is not the friendliest in the world, and a little kindness can make a big impression. However, I am continually puzzled by the majority of family guys who take a family vacation and try to paint a Rockwell to the point where no one is having fun anymore. Hawaiian shirts are the standard issue, along with khaki shorts with black dress socks pulled up to the calf in boat shoes. Let's not forget the token "Panama Jack" or straw hat. It seems as if these guys watched National Lampoon's "Vacation" and used it as a vacation handbook. Combine that with a driven attitude toward cramming every single attraction in the city into a single day, a "I'm on vacation damnit!" sense of entitlement, and let the hilarity ensue. Please let me exercise better judgment when vacationing with my own family, by not leaving my brain at home.