May 7, 1999

Random thoughts while flossing:

Why do people still believe in oath-swearing, anti-drug programs when, after all the money and time put into them, the percentage of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders using drugs has continued to rise? My mother belonged to a church group sixty years ago in which she pledged, "lips that touch liquor will never touch mine." She eventually married my father, an alcoholic.

If gun laws deter firearms crimes, why did that high school student in Alberta do the same thing as the teens in Littleton a week later despite Canada's extremely tight gun-restriction laws?

On the other hand, since the welfare reform laws have been working to get healthy people off welfare, the national teenage pregnancy rate has declined 17% since its peak in 1991 and AFDC welfare rolls have shrunk more than 50 %.

The Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District School Board has taken bold action to begin building the third high school using existing school revenues rather than imposing additional taxes. While better late than never, why wasn't this solution pursued years ago?

As the big three tv networks battle competition from newer networks, cable, and computers, why do they continue the time-slot shuffle? As if that isn't confusing enough, they routinely put popular programs on hiatus to introduce new shows and are now stuffing more ads into prime-time in attempting to recover lost revenues. Remember when you could set your watch and calendar by regular programming? Quick quiz: "Bonanza" is on--what time and day is it?

First we had a credit card, then we had a gold card, followed by the platinum card. Now we're being solicited for a titanium card. Can Visa Plutonium be far behind?

Three favorite typo's of the day: Though positive thinking helps, one newspaper ad is overdoing it when referring to "congenial" hearing loss; an Internet real estate site for commercial--not agricultural--properties boasted a "tur-key" operation; a headline about the National Rifle Association read, "IRA balks at proposed new gun laws." But I guess it works either way.

© 1999 Cynthia Hahn