Deviant Standard Deviants

Wow, this has been a great week for idiots.  Maybe I should declare it “The Week of the Idiot”.

Where do I start?

With the “corrupt politicians being corrupt politicians” in Cuyahoga County, home of Cleveland, OH?  And we wonder why our county can’t get anything done.  Proof positive the buddy system still works well in local politics.  The local yokels turn over their local politicians about as often as senators choose not to run for re-election.  If these guys don’t go to jail, they will probably be re-elected.

With the Chinese, who are monitoring and limiting the rights of visitors in their hotel rooms during the Olympics, or with the American media and companies that are complying with the mandate?  (How do you say “Chinese dhimmi” in Arabic?)

With our beloved “how low can you go” Congress?  You know, starring the “most ethical Congress…ever!” people – led by that mover and shaker of all things San Fran, Nancy Pelosi.  Also starring second-fiddle Republicans.  The country agrees we have a problem with energy.  The citizens want something done about it.  And Congress agreed…the Dems agreed they should go home for summer break, and most Repubs did the same.  Only a small handful chose to stick around to “debate” how to solve the energy crisis.  (Too little, too late in my opinion; this was mostly for show.  So what if it energizes the 40+ Republican Congressmen who participated; where were the others, and how will they communicate this to their base?)

Or with the new distributor of the “Standard Deviants” educational series, Goldhill Educational.  If you don’t get the Standard Deviants on PBS (we do not), they have many excellent videos for education.  They are entertaining, funny, and highly educational.  Just ask my eleven and six year old children, who ask to watch these made-for-high-schoolers videos, and are learning a lot from them.  Well, something has happened with the ability to get these videos.  Goldhill had a “we’re dumping our VHS videos” sale, and we decided to buy nine of the titles.  They were free; we only had to pay the $13 in shipping.

Here we are, almost six weeks later, and no videos.  We tried to look for a contact number; none can be found.  The web site’s FAQ section has been pared down to almost nothing.  Three e-mails to customer support and two e-mails to the webmaster have gone unanswered.  This is not promising.  And I want my $13 back if they really aren’t going to ship the videos.  Crooks!

Because of the sheer impact to my children’s education, I should give the Idiot of the Week award to Goldhill Education.  However, that’s small potatoes compared to the jump in my energy bills and gasoline prices.  Here’s to you, Congress, for thirty years of bad policies (Dems) and wimpiness (Repubs), putting the American people in the position they are in.  You certainly know how to destroy an economy and a nation.