Random Musings

In the world of sports, I am very frustrated by the play of the New York Giants. Ugh! They seem like they have fallen apart.

And, I have absolutely no interest in the World Series this year. I think that this is one of those Series where the only people really interested are the fans of the two teams involved. Besides, the “October Classic” in November is just awful.

Bernie Madoff is finding great humor in the fact that the SEC was totally incompetent and should have caught him years ago. He is right. They have been incompetent and should have caught him years ago. I wonder how entertaining it is to laugh, however, when you are living in a jail cell half the size of the laundry room of your old beach house.

Today’s election will not really be much of a test of bigger things. Joe Scarborough has it right when he says that it’s next year’s election and that will all be based on the economy. An election in rural upstate New York, no matter how much publicity it gets, is just an election in a very rural, very impoverished area that is heavily Republican to begin with. In Virginia the Democrats are running an incredibly weak candidate and in New Jersey, it is a world class stink fest. “None of the Above” would win handily in the Garden State. Of course, the press is making today’s elections into the be all and end all of western civilization.

Jon Gosselin has been talking about losing his ‘moral compass.’ His moral compass seems to have been a rotary fan in a state of constant, high speed spinning. Now he is seeing the “Rabbi to the Stars” Rabbi Shmuley Boteach who was Michael Jackson’s spiritual mentor. Well, I guess Rabbi Boteach did a great job with Jackson, as we can all see how well adjusted Jackson was.

No matter how you feel about the health care debate, or no matter what your politics happen to be, there is a lesson to be learned about Joe Lieberman. Never let him walk behind you!

“Mad Men” is an outstanding television show. I daresay it is the best show on television right now. There are other shows I greatly enjoy, but “Mad Men” is truly outstanding.

Yesterday, on his radio program Rush Limbaugh said, "Moderates by definition have no principles.”

Okay, so using Merriam-Webster as a source, here are some definitions.


Principle: 1 a : a comprehensive and fundamental law, doctrine, or assumption b (1) : a rule or code of conduct (2) : habitual devotion to right principles c : the laws or facts of nature underlying the working of an artificial device

Moderate: avoiding extremes of behavior or expression : observing reasonable limits b : calm, temperate 2 a : tending toward the mean or average amount or dimension b : having average or less than average quality : mediocre
3 : professing or characterized by political or social beliefs that are not extreme

From the Oxford University Press Dictionary:

Principle >noun 1 a fundamental truth or proposition serving as the foundation for belief or action. 2 a rule or belief governing one's personal behavior. 3 morally correct behavior and attitudes. 4 a general scientific theorem or natural law. 5 a fundamental source or basis of something. 6 Chemistry an active or characteristic constituent of a substance.

Moderate: average in amount, intensity, or degree. 2 (of a political position) not radical or extreme. >noun a person with moderate views. >verb 1 make or become less extreme or intense. 2 review (examination papers or results) to ensure consistency of marking. 3 preside over (a deliberative body or a debate).

I am personally offended by Limbaugh’s remarks because I consider myself to be pretty moderate about most things, perhaps left of center. But I tend to very carefully look at things from multiple sides and have never been fixated by the belief that issues have only two sides. I think most people who know me see me as a principled person and for someone to even suggest that moderates have no principles is frankly, offensive. That will have to be another blog post, however.

But, underlying this is something else. Here are two working definitions of principle and moderate. Nowhere in the definitions, is it even faintly suggested that moderates, by definition, have no principles.

So, when Limbaugh says, “I don’t make this stuff up folks....” I hate to say it. He does.