Let's Debate

It's on for the GOP tonight!

I was thinking, on my way to work this morning, that the whole 2016 Presidential race is in the toilet. No really, I'm so disappointed with all of the candidates. All of them from both parties.

Let's take the Republicans:
Trump: The man with a double digit lead is a bully! I get that he's talking tough and people really like that, but let's talk temperament for a second. This guy continues to insult and belittle his opponents (like a grade school tyrant)-and it seems to be working for him-but can we afford for him to piss off Putin and call him a loser? He can talk the talk, but just because he runs a billion dollar corporation bearing his name does that really mean he can walk the walk on a global level? Politically? He's a loose cannon.

Carson: The media is calling Carson's recent surge in the polls "Trump-esque". Is Ben Carson the kinder, gentler Trump? Or is his recent surge due to the fact that The Donald's name calling game has turned off former supporters who find Ben more presidential? Trump better watch it. Carson's got God on his side, just saying, and if, after a great performance tonight, he emerges as the front runner it would be interesting to see how Trump handles that. Not well is my bet.

Fiorina: Carly, Carly, Carly. I recently read that she compared Trump's inappropriate comment about her face to the grade school bully who is mean and pulls your hair but secretly really likes you. Uh, no Carly. Make no mistake, Trump wanted to insult you and bring you down. I have to give her kudos for turning that ugly comment into political gold. A web new ad by Carly's camp said this about Fiorina:
"Ladies, look at this face and look at all of your faces, the face of leadership," Fiorina says. "This is the face of a 61-year-old woman. I am proud of every year and every wrinkle."

Bush: Ughhh..I seriously think that the ONLY interesting thing about Jeb is that he speaks Spanish. He is so vanilla that I'm asleep already...please somebody wake me because the man has yet to wake any of us up. It's do or die for him tonight. He can't play mediocre or rest on his family's laurels because Trump will squash him. I'm not sure he has the chops to go up against Trump. He is over matched.

Walker, Kasich, Christie, Cruz, Rubio, Huckabee and Paul: The only ones I want to talk about are Christie and Rubio. Christie, I like, but his offensive attack on Paul at the last debate did him no favors. In my opinion it made him look angry instead of strong. And Rubio? He needs to be noticed. He's intelligent and articulate, but if eloquence is his only Presidential attribute he will continue to get lost in the water with these sharks. The rest have no chance. Zero.

As for the Democrats, I'm supremely disappointed in Hillary. She literally had a cake walk back into the White House and now all she has is cake on her face. What the HELL happened? I'm calling that a choke of EPIC proportions. I'm not sure she can come back, but I hope she does because the Dem's are loosing the race against the fiery Republicans.

Tonight should be interesting...I can't wait to see who Trump insults and I'm guessing I'm not the only one. It doesn't make for great politics, but it sure does make for great TV.

The Great Underwear Debate

Ok, so I vowed I wasn't going to get in to this on The Daily Dandy, but I gave up swearing for lent, not lying. HA! So here goes. This is one that had us all talking.

Yesterday I'm watching GMA and this story comes on about a mom and her 9 yr old daughter, who she took to Victoria Secret to buy underwear.  Now, there are a few details I need to report before you can form your opinion and respond.

• She took her to Pink, which is a subsidiary of Victoria Secret that is marketed to college age girls and is still in the same store as Victoria Secret, but has it's own space. Pink's designs are bright, bold, lacy racy and eye catching. As you can see some, not all designs have sayings that could be considered inappropriate for a nine year old. 
• The mother claims there is "nothing wrong with it". She says "No child wants to be the one in the locker room with the ugly underwear."
• The child claims it's time to leave the "Gymboree" behind and "move on to the next level. 
• The mom says she draws the line at lace. "There's a hard line between pretty and sexy and it's hard when we're talking about underwear to know where that difference is."

Here's the story:

And the GMA link:

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/mom-says-victorias-secret-okay-tween-132303210--abc-news-parenting.html

Tell me what you think! I'm dying to hear.
Oh, and there's one more thing.

Did I mention that the mom is a blogger?

A Bunch Of Crap I Could Have Written Full Posts About But Didn't

• I fell asleep during the debates last night. What the hell is wrong with me? Shouldn't have had that second glass of wine;). Heard it was a sleeper anyway. Romney made Obama look like a little girly man and that was early on, from what I saw. What's your take on last night's debate? Did it change your vote?

• The Red Sox (I can't believe I'm going here) are done for the season. Stick the long awaited fork in them, FINALLY. You haven't heard much about them this season at The Daily Dandy, and there's good reason for that. They truly sucked. I don't think I have watched a full game since late July. The calls for Sox manager Bobby Valentine's head have been heard loud and clear, especially today. If I were him, I'd be looking for a quick way outta town. (if he hasn't left already)

• For all you dog lovers out there, check out this story: "Susie" a cute, white, female poodle mix, was hit by a car in Taunton, MA and immediately became wedged in the front grill of the car. The driver, unaware that he had struck a dog, continued driving for another 11 miles. He even crossed state lines into Rhode Island with Susie still stuck in the front grill. When the driver became aware that the dog was stuck, he drove to the nearest police station and the dog was immediately removed. Unbelievably, the dog sustained a concussion and  only minor injuries. Susie was recently reunited with her owner. I gotta ask, how do you not know that you've struck a dog with your car?

• I love this best of all....This is Carter, who uses a wheelchair. His dad made him this for Halloween:

What Would Bambi Do?

So recently, it has come to my attention that My Guy reads my blog more than I thought he did. What I thought was that he rarely or never reads it so I was mistaken. Last week he told me he had a topic for my blog, which I thought was great because as you all know, there are days we all search for inspiration for blog topics. Anyhow, he went on to give me his idea, which is really more of a debate, and I immediately dismissed him, with my quick rhetoric and a definitive answer. He, of course had an intelligent rebuttal and a spirited debate ensued. I, clearly for the one side, he for the other.

The next day, over dinner he said, "I see you didn't take my advice and post my blog topic." Oh, so you've been reading my blog, I thought. Interesting. I told him that although I thought the debate was pretty cut and dry on the PRO for my side, I agreed that I would give him my forum to house his debate today.

So here goes: And please don't hold back bloggers. Let's show the real world how articulate and convincing us bloggers can be. (and immature and crude and funny too)

What's the difference between the Harvard professor, up in a tree stand killing innocent animals in the wild, and what Michael Vick did with the dogs? Why is one socially acceptable and one is criminal?

I will monitor all responses and post my stance on this issue later today.
Make me proud, peeps.

They're Just Boobs Boys

My good friend Jim brought this story to my attention yesterday. I had already read all about it and had it on my radar when Jim inquired about my perspective on the issue.

If you aren't aware of the story here's the condensed version which reads like every other female sports reporter/locker room harassment scandal story in the past 20 years.

Mexican TV network, TV Azteca reporter Ines Sainz was covering Jets Quarterback Mark Sanchez in the Jets locker room over the weekend when some of the players began making inappropriate comments about her. So much so, that it prompted another reporter to walk over to her and apologize for the way she was being treated and still another reporter to report their behavior to the league. Prior to the locker room experience, the players had even been cat-calling out to her and threw footballs in her direction while on the practice field.

Why? Because Ines is smokin' hot and it's a fact that she uses her smokin' hotness to promote her career.



Yeah. So. What.



Does that mean she's asking for it? That she deserves it? Such questions lie at the center of this debate.

Does she act professionally when on the job? All accounts say yes. Ines has been reporting for TV Azteca for 9 years. She, herself stated that although embarrassed by the Jets actions, she didn't take it "to heart" and continued on with the job at hand. She, herself stated that she did NOT report the incident to the NFL, and that she never felt threatened. Sainz said today she did not hear exactly what was being said in the locker room. "I pretended not to notice," she told "Good Morning America." "I was focused on my job."

Sounds to me like she's been here before and sounds to me like she carried on just as she has in the past. Professionally. The problem for some is that Ines is waaaay to gorgeous and dressed waaay too "provocatively" for sports reporting. Who says? There can be no arguing that Ines is a sexy, gorgeous woman who dresses her part, promoting that sexy-ness. That's her "schtick", as they say. Her tight jeans, (which if you google image Ines Sainz, more than 15 pictures of her ass in tight jeans come up) are kind of like Harry Caray's glasses although Ines' jeans don't seem medically necessary. Minor point. The point here is that no matter what she looks like and no matter how she's dressed, she does not deserve to be treated with sexual harassment in the work place or any place else for that matter. And herein lies the "thin line which is hard to cross" in this debate. Ines claims "it's my style. all my life", and that she is not trying to provoke anything.

Here's what I think for whatever it's worth.

I don't think women reporters should be in the locker rooms. I don't think they belong there.

I know because I've been there and if the athletes act unprofessionally and with disrespect towards female reporters, it makes for a terrible working environment. Forget what being the subject of that can do to one's psyche. Sophomoric behavior will continue to take place if reporters continue to do business in the locker room, and female reporters will always be part of the press whether dressed provocatively or not.

Now, I'm not saying restrict females from the locker rooms. Not at all. I'm saying restrict all press from the locker rooms. There is no need for them to be in there anyway, and conduct business outside the locker room in a press room. This will in no way put an end to those who will continue to cat call and whistle when she is working, but it will put all reporters on even ground which means they will all be dressed and ready for the Q&A.

And don't blame Ines Sainz. "Sainz said she chooses clothing that she considers attractive. "All [women] like to be attractive," she said. "In Mexico, I'm very well known for my image and my work."

A Great Debate

Word is that studio execs are all in a flutter over what Robert Downey Jr. said to Dave about Holmes and Watson's "relationship".

You tell me, because I'm not seeing it. And by that, I mean all the panic.
I am DEFINITELY going to see the movie.

Just Say No To Nookie

Tufts University, in Medford, MA, just two days ago, added a rule to their student handbook banning students from engaging in "the sex act" in their dorm rooms while their roommate is present. Seems officials at the college have been fielding complaints about sexual promiscuity during "lights out" time from students for a while, so they decided to take action. The issue has been hotly contested and analyzed on every newpaper and talk radio station in Boston.

Opponents say it is a direct violation of a students constitutional rights of freedom, while proponents say, it's time has come. With my own undergraduate dorm days long behind me, I can't say I haven't dealt with this one before on a personal level. Without saying whether I was the violator or the victim, I'll just say that since the dormroom was invented, this issue has been played out in almost every scenario.

Let's take, for example, it's components; young, good looking (for the most part) hormonally fueled 18-21 year-olds, away from home for the first time in their lives, enjoying the fruits of their new found freedom. Can you say sex and drugs and rock and roll?? Hell yes!! And if the sex is free, it's good for the taking. Some believe they are not one's to starve at a banquet, so when the opportunity presents itself, they must dine as if the Apocalypse is fast approaching. Everything and everyone else is considered collateral damage. Others believe that some consideration is in order or possibly a mutually agreed upon sign, that things are gettin' jiggy up in here, and to check back later. *wink, wink*. I'd have to agree with the latter.

Really, how hard is it to find some privacy in college?? Not very. And if you want it bad enough and don't care who sees you, what's to stop you from going for it under some shady tree? And once you add drugs and alcohol into the mix, you usually end up with all bets off the table when it comes to dorm rooms. Then add one pompous and inconsiderate roommate and you've got a sticky situation, quite literally. Bravo to Tufts for giving the student body an option other than the favored f-bomb response from said roommate. I doubt that adding the rule to the handbook will halt the late night nookie in the bed next to you, but it's a start.

It gives the victim a voice when their voice is not being heard over the animalistic moaning and groaning going on over there in the dark.

The Dinner Exchange Program

I never understood the "Dinner Exchange Program". The way I see it there are two schools of thought on this one.

• You ordered it-you eat it. (unless it's either cold or in-edible)
• You pay so have it your way.

I tend to lean towards the former. You are at a restaurant, you ordered it, so you're pretty much stuck with it. If you don't LIKE your dinner choice, that's just tough titties. If your dinner choice is not presented the way it was described, then you have the right to complain. Otherwise all bets are off the table, so to speak.

Then there are the "sender backers". You've either dined with these people or you are one. I have even swapped meals with a "sender backer", as to avoid an uncomfortable exchange with the waiter or the restaurant. I just don't see what good can come out of a barrage of complaints between a diner and the waitstaff. A comped entree or entire dinner? I say it's not worth it and if that's the goal of the outing, then stay home. Granted, there are millions of eating establishments where you, the diner, are just a number. The whole idea is to get them in and get them out, turnover is more important than quality of service. Those places never last and I try not to chose them as a dining destination. You live, you learn.

So what's up with the "sending your dinner back" thing? The only thing an eating establishment can promise and deliver is a HOT meal. Your culinary tastes are your own and if you deem the dish not suited to your tastes, I think it is your fault for choosing it, or the restaurant's for producing it. I would never send back my entree because I did not "like" it. I would simply never choose the entree, or the restaurant again, and problem solve by indulging my hunger in dessert. Chances are slim they can screw up chocolate ice cream.

Yet there are those one can never satisfy when it comes to fine dining. The meal is sent back to the kitchen for whatever reason; the meat was not cooked properly, it lacks in flavor, or it's not what one thought they were ordering. Immediately the sanctity of the meal is placed in jeopardy. The other diners at the table now feel the need to scramble or worse, wait until all of the entree's are placed in front of each diner. Usually, the "sender backer" ends up eating alone, while the rest of the party is having coffee or an after dinner drink that they didn't want in the first place. Nobody wins.

I say shut up and put up, or better yet, let your flying fork do the work for you. After all, sharing is caring and if you are dining with someone who dosen't mind, two forks in one dish are better than none. If the dining experience is not what you anticipated, then don't make the same mistake twice and you don't go back. Lesson learned. In the end, I think The Dinner Exchange Program does more harm than good.

Ignorance Is Bliss

In case you've been living under a rock, I'm sure you have otherwise heard about all the racism bru-haha bubbling over the top of the proverbial pot and kettle here in good ole' Beantown. Here at ground zero, it's all over the news. It's on the front page of every news paper. It leads every news story. Every. Single. Day.

And it makes me sick.

Then, to make matters worse, our Commander in Chief, had to put his foot into his mouth and step into this hot mess that is at debate. Barry used a bad word and made a freshman mistake.

Big mistake. Huge.
Now he's got to back pedal like a paperboy on his bike riding a flat stretch of street while watching the sunset. Only Barry's not in the clear.

The charges here are serious and the issue has been hotly contested by both parties, leaving a "he said, he did" debate for the ages. The question is, can we move forward, or does this mess send us 500 steps back?
Mother may I take 200 steps forward? Sometimes I wish it were that easy.

Do any of us really think that a brew with Barry at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue will make a difference?
It's possible.
It's interesting.
It's unconventional.
It's kind of ridiculous.
It's something, I suppose.
It's a start.

It's a travesty.

Two men, both in positions of power got into it and the rest of the world will suffer. Is this about two peacocks who didn't have enough room for both their tail feathers to spread?
Is it about who was higher on the power chain?
Is it about respect and the lack there of?

We may never find a solution or make peace with this one, but one thing's for sure; a beer with Barry is not the answer.

HERE is why. (click the linky)