March 31, 2003 Why is Ken! an "american hating, president bashing treasonist?"

Dear Ken!, my question is : why are you an american hating, president bashing treasonist? fred

Dear Fred, I suppose your comments are meant to be hurtful and insulting but frankly, Fred, I expect nothing less from people like you. During times of war, it's the small minds that throw it around like some kind of verbal hand grenade. You are not only ignorant of the meaning of the word but so completely clueless that you don't know that there is no such word as "treasonist". So before I explain why I'm an American-hating president basher, let's be clear as to the meaning of treason. Mr. Webster, if you would... treason, n. 1. the betrayal of a trust. 2. the offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance or to kill or personally injure the sovereign or the sovereign's family. Despite my eons of heavy drug use, I'm quite confident that I have never committed any act to overtly overthrow the government, nor have I attempted to kill or injure anyone. Have I betrayed a trust? From my years of relationships I've learned that trust is a two-way street and if any trust was betrayed first it was the leadership of the United States betraying my trust that it would behave as a responsible and honorable world leader. And that was before this latest travesty of a military action took place. See, no treason here. I haven't taken up arms. I haven't funded whatever evil forces the government claims is after them. If anything I have contributed to pubic discourse, something few Americans seem inclined to do, as if our nation is so meager and weak, and our soldiers so frail, that neither could withstand even a modicum of criticism. Now to the America hating and president bashing: what other country-- as if you would know much about anything more than fifteen feet outside your trailer door-- would be so narrow-minded as to turn political opposition within the U.N. into a personal attacks loaded with ignorant, vapid symbolic acts? None beyond the United States, as far as I can recall. In fact, the U.S. has behaved like a spoiled brat in the face of U.N. demands for more proof than just Colin Powell's word. And President George W. Bush? Upon his election I was convinced the man was simply too ignorant of world matters and the workings of our society to properly govern our nation. But after hearing Americans shout down any possibility of discussion or dissent, and watching the shrill and relentless jingoism on MSNBC and especially Fox "News", I'm convinced more than ever that Dubya is the perfect representative for the ignorant and backward majority that is America. I know you're going to retort with that timeless phrase, "Love it or leave it!" so I'll put this all in context for those of you who don't know nuthin' 'bout history: this nation was born upon a series of rebellious acts which sparked the American revolution. If you and your mindless patriotic drones had been alive in the 1700's, you would have been the lackeys of the King of England, telling the troublemakers-- our forefathers-- to love it or leave it, to not question the government, to trust in the ruling party. It was the very founders of this nation who possessed the bravery and the balls to stand up and speak their mind, to demand the freedom they believe was their right and ultimately to challenge a government they found corrupt and unresponsive. Without those acts, my friend, you'd probably be downing tea and crumpets while watching cricket on the tele. Ken!

Hi Ken, I am have been seeing this guy for 2 years now. we started off slow and started hooking up more and more but he kept sleeping with other people, he just got out of a very painful relationship and wasn't ready for another one but i liked being with him so i continued to still see him and only him. we get along great we have great sex and now i am actually staying with him at his house and have been for about 5 months. we seem to be getting closer and there is no dout that we are good, very good friends but he says he just doesn't feel the way i do. he doesn't sleep with anyone anymore, ever since i have been here at his house he says he doesn't want to hurt me because he really does care for me but he just doesn't feel "in love" with me. i said i was going to move away, not only out of his house, this was only temp. anyway, but i told him i was going to move to another state and he doesn't want me to move, maybe to my own apart. but not out of the state. so my question is, could this person really care about me more then he really thinks he does, or should i quit wasting my time with this and get away from him? i hope to remain friends with him no matter what i decide. let me add every time i have gone away on vacation he has called and was begging me to come back and telling everyone how much he missed me! signed, "what to do"

Dear What To Do, This is one of those cases of "call it what you will". It doesn't matter what you call a relationship. Two people who care for each other, make hot, hot monkey love and live together could call each other their worst enemies but in all practicality, they are engaged in a loving relationship. Look at it this way: the words don't matter; it's the actions that speak volumes. For example, a government could go on in great detail about how they value freedom. But if, at the same time, these same leaders continue to pass laws that eliminate civil liberties then the government isn't really in favor of freedom. It's the substance, not the style that counts. Ken!

Dear Ken, Being a freshmen in High School you experience a lot of different things then in middle school, such as poularity. I myself have many friends who are popular and go hang out with then all the time. The thing I don't get is why some popular kids have to make fun of other kids? I mean does it make them look better? Here's a situation im in, im friends with mostly the freshman, and juniors and seniors. It seems that the seniors are the best because the've matured, the freshman, well we've all been together for years. But the spohmore class is so rude. I mean you could be the most popular kid and school and get mocked by them, I just don't understand why people want to make fun of other people. The one thing ive never done is make fun of someone, well not totally true, but not to hurt anyones self-esteem, like one perosn did to me. The one thing id love to do is to have this kid who bugged me during a sport season to be a loser and see how he likes it. What exactly happened was my dad recently had surgery and made him look older, im so close to my dad, so this kid says that the reason he doesnt come to games is because hes too old, and will be in a grave soon. This makes me cry right now, but when he said that i was in a state of shock, not that he said it, but looking over the past things he did to me calling me stupid, hes passing one class out of eight, yeah im real stupid, thats why i get high honors. Obiously telling this to the world and you probably means nothing but i want my voice to be heard, the stress will always be on a teen, they say its the hardest, but funnest years of your life, all i want in for school to end, go to college graduate, meet a nice girl who cares a bout you and raise a family, never would i let my kid hurt another persons feelings, ill let him/her have fun, thats whats a teen is all about, however, it seems that the way the kid above i told you about wants it different. dazed and confused

Dear Dazed and Confused, The short answer is that people can be total bastards, whether they're fourteen or forty. The more complicated answer is that some people-- again regardless of age-- lack any ability to build themselves up without tearing other people down. For whatever reason-- upbringing, lack of any good qualities, deep seated rage-- these people cannot find sufficient good within themselves to promote so they resort to knocking others. I suspect this sort of thing is more common amongst youth where insecurity and lack of maturity is commonplace but unfortunately some adults never grow out of these habits. Often these people end up leading lonely, bitter lives with only themselves to blame. Ken!

Hey Ken, You seem to have the answer to any question, so I thought I'd ask... How do you cure the common cold? Mr. Sniffles BoogerFactory

Dear Mr. Sniffles BoogerFactory, I've got a cure but it ain't pretty: gather the toenail clippings from three Jewish transvestites, the ashes from a burned American flag and combine with a two dashes of reindeer sweat. Place in a mason jar and secure said jar to the branch of an oak tree. Wait two weeks. Remove the jar from the tree, place it in the nearest dumpster along with your left sock. (Be sure to wear socks. Lots of people make this mistake.) Return to your home walking backwards. Upon passing across the threshold of your home your cold will wane. You may also find it goes away before this time but if there's one thing I've learned lately it's that it's not right to question authority. Ken!

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