What is our world coming to? Last week, there were headlines from every major news outlet concerning the 7-year old that apparently ran from the police and led them on a short chase.

To my amazement, the Today Show featured the boy and his parents on their national broadcast this morning. Are you kidding?

Why would we ever in a million years glorify something like this? In reality, the little thief needs to be grounded for a long period of time, in addition to a good old-fashioned butt whipping. And yes, I believe in corporal punishment. It worked for 99% of the people I grew up with.

Having these people on a national show and glorifying it is simply ridiculous. That's not teaching the child that what he did was completely wrong, and it's not punishing the parents for something they are obviously not doing. It's just giving too much attention to the "act" itself.

Please people. Re-evaluate your values, and raise your kids right. And the media, well, you guys need to stop feeding the egos of people who want 10 minutes in the limelight.

One of the most respected men in our time, Colin Powell, interjected the voice of reason into the ongoing Gates / Crowley spat. Here's what Gen. Powell had to say:

"I am saying Skip [Gates], perhaps in this instance, might have waited a while, come outside, talked to the officer and that might have been the end of it. I think he should have reflected on whether or not this was the time to make that big a deal."

I have to say, the general is right on target. Not everything in this country is about race. Sometime's it is about when you know you shouldn't open your mouth. I believe that is one of those instances. Both parties certainly have some blame in this; however, the police officer as I pointed out earlier was doing his job, and until he was able to secure Mr. Gates' identification, he had no idea who he was dealing with and therefore had to be prepared for anything. Thank you, General Powell, for providing a level-headed assessment.

As previously noted, I classify myself neither as a Republican or a Democrat. I typically go with the person whose overall philosophies are similar to mine, and who I think will do the best job.

On both sides of the two-party mash up, there are those that I call "fanaticals." These are the people that believe every single word that their candidate or elected official says, no matter how idiotic. And, of course, there are candidates (or elected officials) that fall in this category too.

The past eight years of the Bush administration is a proving point. I have never in my entire life seen so many "cattle" blindly follow someone and fail to question even the most easy to understand BS that was coming out of that administration. It's as though Bush was all-knowing and God forbid anyone question him. And now, after eight years of virtual isolationism, poor business practices, and some of the worst foreign policy ever, we are all now paying the price.

Again - I'm not affiliated with a particular party. But it sure seems like to me lately that the "far right" fanaticism has completely enveloped the Republican party (although there are a few shining stars of reason).

And we STILL have those out there that would rather believe and hang on every word that morons like Rush Limbaugh spew than listen to the voice of reason.

This whole thing about "birthers" just takes the cake. Lead by fanatics like Limbaugh, there are those who *still* do not believe Obama was born in the USA. Please! Get a life, folks! This theory was disproved months ago, and no matter how much noise you make, it's not going to change.

Hey, look, I'm sorry if you don't like Obama. He already has his hands full, and unlike some people who would rather do nothing, I believe he is doing the best he can to dig us out of the various holes that we allowed Bush to dig for us. Distractions like this only cause the country to lose focus on the real issues. Personally, I'm going to give Obama a chance to fix what it took eight years to create. It ain't gonna happen overnight.

So instead of pulling out your fanatic play book, shut your mouth and get behind the president. Give the guy a chance. And, Rush... please, shut up already!