* The fear of living.
* A child dying before the parents.
* Looking at a photograph that speaks to your soul.
* Being alone, but living with someone.
* The day Alzheimer's makes it impossible for you to recognize who is staring back at you in that mirror.
* Always being broke, but working a 50 hour week.
* Being told you're no longer needed.
* I'm sorry, but what you have is incurable.
* Hatred rising up from a place you don't quite understand.
* The tenth time you've had to tell someone you ran into a door.
* Not having the money to buy your child a Christmas or birthday gift.

* Do I practice, and preach, racism to my children?
* Do I promote violence over negotiation, compromise, and non-violence?
* Do I act crazy repeatedly and believe an apology will suffice?
* Do I take and never give?
* Do I think my way is the only way?
* If I know another person is hurting, do I offer my help?
* Would I stand between the rapist and the victim?
* Would I give my seat up on the bus, to anyone?
* Do I think that person living on the street is there because they want to be?
* Do I think I can mend my broken heart with revenge?
* Do I think taking or selling drugs will make my life better?
* Do I dare to tell the spreader of right-wing Christian bullshit that I don't buy it?

Essentially, there are none. Every profession has a code of conduct. A lot of us personally use the Ten Commandments, or the Golden Rule. I have to follow a professional code of conduct as a family therapist. Doctors have the Hippocratic Oath. Basically, capitalism uses and promotes no specific code of conduct. We hope the entrepreneur, the CEO, the businessman, is honest, is a person with character. However, when that self-imposed integrity withers away under the pressure of making a profit, or satisfying the Board of Directors, or stockholders, or maintaining an exorbitant lifestyle, we are left with a stampeding monster no longer serving the purposes of a democracy, and it becomes in-and-of itself an ideology, most often in direct opposition to the defining principles of a democracy, and no longer serving the benefit of the community. When we look to the courts for remediation from this tyrannical monster, usually what we get from the pro-business judges is a slap on the hands and a fine that is a millionth of a percent of what's been stolen. Today our government maintains a safe distance, not wanting to interfere with these profiteers, who most often help finance their campaigns. Since I was 21, I have not believed capitalism is a viable companion with a democracy, at least not the brand currently practiced in the U.S. The combined motives of profit, market domination, and labor exploitation are not compatible with sustainability, cooperation, a living wage, and economic justice, and no amount of flag waving and song singing is going to make it so.

What a bunch of idiotic things to do with your life. Gee, I can go down a mountain between some poles faster than anyone else in the world. Who would want to hang around all those prissy primadonnas on skates? Hey, I'm going to get on a sled and go 85 mph down an ice tunnel. But I have to admit, I do like curling. There's something I can see myself doing, although standing on ice for very long is not really my idea of smart. No one should ever get hurt, unless you slip on the ice and bust your butt, or someone goes crazy and starts throwing around the stones. All things being equal, it seems like a pretty safe, no contact sport where beer could easily be added. And maybe some cheerleaders.

The secret army in charge of protecting the President kicked two females out of the State of the Union address for wearing T-shirts. One, Cindy Sheehan, mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, turned anti-war activist, read: "2,245 Dead, How many more?" The other, a wife of one of the congressman, read: "Support the troops defending our freedom." Both, I understand, were wearing bra's, so I'm assuming it was the T-shirts that were offensive, not what was underneath them. Anyway, here are a few more dangerous T-shirts that I have spotted:
* 51% is not a mandate.
* Bush lied, soldiers died.
* Four moron years.
* Incompetence kills, at home and abroad.
* Hurricane Bush-The Real Disaster.
* GOD is not spelled GOP.
* Military intelligence-another faith based initiative.
* Fixed Iraq, now I'll fix New Orleans.
* Paranoia is patriotic.
* Wargasm
* Will kill for oil.
All I can say is don't get caught wearing any of these to any of Bush's shindigs. The King don't like it.