– Quotes of the week: "Being a mother is a noble status, right? Right. So why does it change when you put "unwed" or "welfare" in front of it?" –Florynce Kennedy

"The last thing people want to see outside the marquee of "Les Miserables," after they leave their $250 seats, is the real Miserables, the children on the sidewalk." Jonathan Kozol

– I’ve seen the light: Unfortunately, it illuminates dead corpses as well as smiling infants; dishonest and lying politicians as well as heroes; the filthy rich as well as the working, struggling, single, welfare mother.

– No low carb diet for me: I have a thing about bread. Besides being the staff of life, when I eat bread, particularly hard crusted bread, I am reminded of the communal meals we ate together as seminary students, discussing life’s injustices, Vietnam being one of them at the time, and how we might go about trying to change them, or right them. Every tiny bit of bread forced us to think about going out and transforming the world. Losing weight is not near as important to me as these memories.

– Bush’s accomplishment (final installment):

26. Reneged on Kyoto Treaty to combat global worming.

27. Under cover of the failed "War on Drugs," sent Columbia $2 billion in mostly military aid to protect U.S. oil interests.

28. Advocated gluttonous consumption as an American entitlement and way of life.

29. Claiming to support liberation of women worldwide, pulled the plug on family planning organizations overseas and caused increasing insecurity, pollution, and death for women in developing countries.

30. Awarded $948 million in no-bid contracts to repair and operate Iraqi oil fields to Halliburton, which still pays ex-CEO Dick Cheney $180,000/year.

31. Proving once again that truth trumps fiction, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by right-wing Norwegian politician Harold Nesvik, who praised Bush’s bold use of war-making to address world problems.

By now there are probably another 31 disgusting mistakes Bush has made, but I’m getting tired of the whole thing. DUMP BUSH IN NOVEMBER, so I can get on with my life.

– Welfare to work: The only people that have been helped by the welfare to work scam have been minimum wage employers. McDonald’s loves the program, as does Wal-Mart and tens of other companies that love to pay $5.15 (some only $3.15) an hour for your labor, with next to no benefits. Now going on ten years old, the program needs a critical review. It has done more to hurt single mothers and their children than any other single factor, short of the stupid men that got them pregnant.

– Some stupid things:

• Fat-free, no sugar ice cream, non-alcoholic beer, and holes in donuts.

• Sun roofs, spoilers, and cars that cost more than homes.

• Gambling, gossiping, and gadgets.

• Lawyers, meteorologists, and proctologists.

• Push-up bras, spiked heels, and edible underwear.

• Brussel sprouts, liver, and Limburger cheese.

• Reality TV, soap operas, and talk shows.