­­ Quote of the week: Seven deadly sins:

1. Politics without principle

2. Wealth without work

3. Commerce without morality

4. Pleasure without conscience

5. Education without character

6. Science without humanity

7. Worship without sacrifice. --Gandhi

­­ I've listened to nurses whine and bitch about how they continuously get mistreated by hospital management, only to acquiesce and pucker up and kiss butt time and time again. It's happened at Cottage and St. Mary's five or six times in a major way since I've been in town. Management gets the notion to screw them, and everybody starts bending over. Nurses, and other hospital staff, continue to believe that management somehow has their best interests at heart. Of course, they all continue to believe doctors are Gods, so what can you say. Nurses are one of the most naive groups of people to have ever roamed the earth. You get two nurses in the same room, and you'd be lucky if they could agree on what day it is, much less what to do about incompetent management. Few have had the sense to unionize. How could they possibly go on strike? Today it's believed as many people get sick in hospitals as get well. Care has fallen to sub-par levels, as managed care companies and poor hospital management have combined forces to place profit above healing. Doctors have allowed themselves to be told how to practice medicine. Nurses are mainly schooled in how to do paperwork and avoid patient contact -- with all this, striking might be good for the patient. You can't help but wonder when it is they're going to stand up straight and in some kind of unified way represent themselves. Frankly, I'd feel sorry for the poor person you would try to get this group of whiners to unionize. Rule number one would have to be: Wear ear plugs.

­­ Republican House Whip Tom DeLay declares, ''a small elite group of opinion-makers is waging a cultural coup d'etat on the country's fundamental values.'' He has called for Americans to wage a faith-based counter attack. ''The Hammer,'' as he is affectionately called by myself, would prefer for us to pray after a touchdown, but thinks it is sinful to bum the flag. He thinks the cultural elite have treated his type unfairly, referring to them as hypocritical totalitarians or uneducated buffoons. I've personally never said anything that cruel. I think I have used the term idiotic morons, but that's a far cry from a buffoon. DeLay and his fear-mongering followers are a dying breed. They should be placed on the endangered species list, which of course they think is some kind of communist plot to place animals above humans. While I'm sure he's a fine, God fearing, church going person, he despises anyone who looks, thinks, or worships in a different way than he believes is worthy of God's attention. His solution to this terrible cultural plot: give Republicans the political power to impose a narrow cultural and world view upon all Americans. You talk about frightening. I and the rest of the country should have no use for such leaders. They hold us back from our potential, which should be to embrace diversity and love one another for our differences, not be frightened by them. Alikeness breeds complacency, which this country don't need. DeLay is a poor student of history, which leads me back to the moron theory.

­­ You would think an organization like the Rotary would have some level of sophistication beyond the 1800s. But alas, it's not to be. I've always warned my children against joining an organization that votes on whether or not you can become a member. I've made it a personal goal to never do so. If you can't walk in, pay a nominal fee, and become a member, I'm out. Voting on membership has always seemed to me to be a good way to promote exclusivism, racism, and/or sexism. Blackballing a potential member was a great idea in 1820. It helped keep various social and fraternal clubs pure of heart. Generally speaking, that meant pure of color or free of females. Times have changed. Seems the Rotary hasn't. They continue to use this blatantly out-of-date and non-democratic method for choosing their membership. I suppose this is to be expected. You get a group of folks together who somehow believe they can judge others, and what you generally end up with is a bunch of self-righteous human beings who hide behind a slogan or banner in the name of something that is suppose to be good. The Rotary gives democracy and inclusivism a bad name. It continues to promote exclusivism at the expense of people's feelings. There is no way you can make that right.

­­ I'm doing really good this week. I should have peeved off just about everybody in town. One more little thing: If you can't take it, don't read it. ''Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words, oh how they'll peeve you.''