Why do people like crooked politicians?

Ted Stephens, a total jerk who at age 84 is *still* senator from Alaska, won his primary in a landslide, despite the fact that he's under indictment for criminal acts.

Even though he's facing federal charges, Ted Stevens remains feisty as ever. The 84-year-old Republican handily won his primary race for Senate and immediately proclaimed the November election a "piece of cake."

I know he's a total jerk because my dad, who used to fly him around, said so, and so did the pilots and stewardesses that my dad worked with.

And let us not forget that Stevens is responsible for the Bridge to Nowhere - a bridge that helps only his family!

And yet the people of Alaska continue to vote for this man!!!

I assume it's because of all the "pork" he brings to the state - if he wants to skim off several layers of that pork for himself, I guess Alaskans don't mind.

But there's also crooked politicians in every state. (Well, in my own view all politicians, whether Democrat or Republican, are crooked, who devote most of their time once they get into power, of keeping that power, rather than looking out for their constituents.)

But here's one thing. If the 84 year old Ted Stephens is still in the Senate, no reason why the 71-year old McCain can't be. (Of course whether he'll be a good president is a whole nother thing... I think he's too close to a Democrat to be good... but he's better than Obama....)

The US no longer has a culture of excellence... if it ever did. That's what we need to get back. Instead, we get inundated by commercials for kids going back to school - and they're buying clothes. And the commercials have nothing to say about getting a good education and making somethign of yourself. It's all about "don't look like a dork in school." "Look good so you can ask that girl out for a date," ya da ya da ya da ad nauseum.

And the kind of clothes being sold? I walked through a display of teen-guy T-shirts at my local Walmart a couple of days ago... 90% of them had skull motifs. Not the skull motif of pirates, but the skull motif of death and destruction. And the ones that didn't have skulls had really funny says such as this one: Stick figure with its lower limbs spread wide and a green cloud emanating from its bottom. At the top the text, "Got gas?"

Yeah, that's nice stuff for a kid to wear on his t-shirt when he goes to school...or at any time, frankly. But hey, guys find that stuff funny. And far be it for anyone to try to civilize 'em...