Stop Screwing up Our Language

T-Shirt Design:, accompanied by the words: Liberal doesn't sound so good these days, so the lefties have made up a new name for themselves--Progressive. Um, no. I still call myself a Liberal. A classic Liberal, as defined in The Oxford English Dictionary. Look it up - if you possess a copy.

Suck on that!

Mad, Bad and (Quite Possibly) Dangerous to Know

'Don't tell people you have a mental illness,' s advice I've received more times than I care to remember. That's all very well but when you're depressed to the point of catatonia then someone is bound to notice. I feel the need to explain the context of yesterday's post. I became embroiled in a debate on *the forum* about anti-depressants. A poster responded by asserting that SSRI's are frequently prescribed to 'mask' problems that occur in everyday life. I tried to explain the difference between endogenous and reactive depression. Alas, I fear my efforts were in vain. I have no doubt that a minority of incompetent G.P's do prescribe anti-depressants inappropriately. Every medication has its side effects and every medication has horror stories associated with it. But the fact remains that they can and do save lives, regardless of the avalanche of media hysteria surrounding this issue.

On a lighter note, I wish to apologise for my shameless display of poor netiquette - i.e. my failure to respond to people who have the courtesy to comment on my blog. I will try to be a little less negligent in future.

Faith Versus Freedom

I must stress that I rarely watch daytime television. (You don't believe me, do you?). However, I will confess that I was channel hopping on Friday when I stumbled across a programme entitled Make Me Perfect, screened by ITV1, chronicling the extreme makeovers of fifteen women who despised the way they looked. They were each given extensive cosmetic surgery over a very short period of time. I found the whole format profoundly disturbing and wondered at the irresponsibility of the cosmetic surgeons participating in this venture. As my old art teacher used to say: 'There is no true symmetry in nature and there is a kind of beauty in imperfection.' Is there going to be a series devoted to men who are dissatisfied with their appearance?

Somehow I doubt it.

Among other disturbing events that occurred over the weekend were the demonstrations in London against a Danish newspaper that had the 'audacity' to print a cartoon depicting images of the prophet Mohammed. (PBUH or whatever). Firstly, since when was an entire nation responsible for the editorial policy of a single newspaper? Secondly, non-Muslims are under no obligation to adhere to the laws of Islam. No arrests were made in spite of the fact that certain people were carrying placards calling for death to the 'infidels'. The right to protest is inviolable in any democracy but incitement to commit murder is not. I wonder what would happen if I took to the streets and protested every time someone insulted Catholicism. I'd never get anything else done.

Off to consume a slice of toast buttered with lashings of Lurpak.