WHO'S THE PRESIDENT? THE ANSWERS A NO-BRAINER.

I BREAST-FEED. WHAT'S YOUR SUPERPOWER?

Point: God created all men equal.
Counterpoint: Anyone who believes that hasn't spent much time in a male locker room.

Point: We need more politicians.
Counterpoint: For what?

Point: Death is a natural part of life.
Counterpoint: Have you ever seen a dead person doing the polka?

Point: It is good to know the truth.
Counterpoint: It is not always good to tell it.

Point: Hate crimes seem to be on the increase.
Counterpoint: The intelligence of mankind seems to be on the decrease.

Point: President Bush would not be considered one of our smarter President's.
Counterpoint: No shit.

Point: They now consider gambling to be okey and an appropriate way to finance government.
Counterpoint: Not so long ago, they said gambling was bad.

Point: Will the world ever be "all right?"
Counterpoint: It's sure trying.

Point: People on death row are sometimes innocent.
Counterpoint: You got to figure, they were sent there by people too dumb to get out of jury duty.

Point: Why is the world presented to us in opposites?
Counterpoint: Seems to be Gods way of keeping things interesting.

Point: The object of the game is to win.
Counterpoint: The object of the game is to learn to lose without falling apart.

Point: It is far better to give than to receive.
Counterpoint: You think I'm going to fall for that?

Point: The more you know, the less you understand.
Counterpoint: The less you understand, the better off you are.

Point: The Iraqi War is about democracy and freedom.
Counterpoint: Yeah. And Howdy Dowdy was a real person.

Point: Who should be blamed for Walter Reed Hospital?
Counterpoint: All of us.

1948. That's the year I was born. My mother was due April 1st, but she held off, for obvious reasons. I'm not so sure it helped.

Nineteen forty-eight marked the third year of the baby boom. The birth rate was accelerating beyond anything ever seen before or since. In a couple of years, the rate would exceed 4 million births per year, and would remain that way for the next ten years. By 1960, baby boomers would become the largest generation in history. The population had moved up from 141 million in 1946 to 182.5 million in 1960. We had become the "Population Bomb" Paul Ehrlich described in his 1968 book by the same title.

Here are some of the highlight from 1948:
* The biggest highlight for me was my birth, although I don't remember much about it. I was born in a hospital, which was different from my parents, who were both born at home. I became an only child due to the fact that my mother and father had the rh factor, which could lead to serious physical problems for a second child. They were unwilling to take that chance, so they stopped after me. For me, that decision was for the most part beneficial. An only child manages to get spoiled pretty bad, and I was no exception. But as I've gotten older, I've missed not having any siblings.

* One of the most unique things that happened in 1948 was Harry Truman beating Dewey in the Presidential election. Dewey was heavily favored, so much so that the Chicago Daily Tribune jumped the gun and printed an edition with big headlines claiming Dewey the winner. Ends up Truman won and did a pretty decent job, although I was too young to pay much attention. I do know my father liked him.

* Mohandas Gandhi was assassinated in 1948. Gandhi is best known for leading India to independence from Britain by using non-violent, social change strategies. Gandhi would become one of my favorite persons, who I have feebly tried to emulate. My favorite Gandhi quote is: "I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent." A million people lined the streets to watch his body transported to the Ganges River, where he was cremated and his ashes spread in the river.

* The U.S. Supreme Court, by an 8-1 majority, declared that public schools could not teach religion. That began a seperation of church and state debate that continues to this day. In the fifty-eight years that I have lived with this decision, I have always thought both sides have taken up polarized and mistaken positions.

* Israel proclaims itself a sovereign state. The United States gives Israel its diplomatic support. As the years have passed, that support has extended into financial and military help. Today, Israel is the number one benefactor of U.S. foreign aid.

To give you an idea about the cost of things in 1948, here are a few examples: Coca-cola, 5cents; milk, 22cents a quart; butter, 90cents a lb.; a television set, $445; the average price of a new car, $1250; a loaf of bread, 14cents; an average new home, $7700. Unfortunately, the average salary was only $2933. So things were not quite as inexpensive as they seem. Money was hard to come by. When I could put together 15 cents, I headed to the drug store for a two dip, chocolate and marshmallow sundae. I remember that as being a real treat.

One of my favorite all-time inventions occurred in 1948. The 33 1/3rd rpm long playing record. This 12" vinyl disk revolutionized the recording industry. An LP could hold up to 30 minutes of music on each side. I bought my first in 1958. "Paul Anka Sings His Big 15." As I recall, it cost $2.50. I still have it, along with about 999 others.

I liked 1948. It was a good year, especially for me. But I'm not so sure about my parents.

Next time I'll expound on an early baby boomer treat, the outhouse.

* Emotional commitments have nothing to do with legal commitments. While a marriage license does have some positive benefits, it has nothing to do with marriage commitments.

* Love has too many ambiguous meanings for it to be of much use in a marriage. It can't be pinned down, which I think is the nature of the word. Some give it a romantic slant, others attach it to a commitment, and still others define love in sexual terms. People who rely strictly on love to keep a marriage going will most often end up divorced. The following points might better serve you if you a looking to develop and maintain a lasting marriage:
1. Preparation: Know who you are marrying. It would help to wait until you are at least 25. Then have a courtship of at least one year. MINIMUM. Here is the important part: What you see during that time is what you get. Any violence, rudeness, excessive drinking or drug use, unfaithfulness-bale. You're not going to change those things in the other person, no matter how much you think you can.

2. Commitment: Go into a marriage thinking you're only going to do this once. The largest singe facto in long-term marriages is the fact that the couple do not consider divorce as an option. They make a commitment not to fail. This is not to say that some marriages should not end in divorce. That would be unrealistic and unwise. Some things cannot be fixed, but the commitment to make it work narrows that list, as will good preparation.

3. Comprise: Compromise is a necessary ingredient to longevity in a marriage. When two people come together, they are bringing two distinct family histories with them that may be completely different and in conflict. In a sense, a battle than ensues to see which set of family rules will survive. The classic example of this is the argument on how the toilet paper should be put on the roll. Should it come off on top, or on the bottom? Other more pertinent examples might be who handles the finances? Who disciplines the children? How are they disciplined? Who does the housework? How many, or who, should your friends be? They list goes on and on. We each think we know how these things should be done and by whom. We mainly learn this from our parents, who learned it from their parents, and so on, down the generations. Compromising your position in the midst of all this history is difficult, but a vital step in establishing a lasting relationship. (Caution: This is not a one-way street. Both persons need to do the compromising).

4. Forgiveness: We are all going to make mistakes. Some are harder to forgive than others, but still necessary. If you cannot forgive, you're not going to be married for long. It's that simple.