The Dog Ate My Homework

Growing up in the early thirties, I was the younger of two male children, and my survival was made possible in a variety of ways.

I first learned denial; whatever happened, guilty or not I denied any responsibility. That was my first line of defense. If that appeared not to be working, I would immediately blame either my brother or the dog. I learned early on that it was neither smart nor prudent to blame my Father as he had the ultimate power in our house.

I also learned not to wait to be interrogated by my Mother or Father, but rather to go on the attack when I noticed a transgression that I could be blamed for. I was capable of running up to my Mother shouting "Mom, you'll never guess what Bob (my brother) or Daisy (the dog) did. While I didn't get away with it, it confused the situation enough to escape at least for a while.

My all time favorite started as a child, but evolved greatly as a supposed grown up, and that was when threatened by someone or something, to change the subject by concocting a story that would engage my parents or my bosses in a way that they were so interested in the new subject that they would forget the original one. There were great subtleties connected to this as the segue into the distracting subject needed to be smooth, and the new subject as closely connected to the original as possible. It didn't work all the time, but if I was smart about the distraction, it worked.

In that Senator Kerry has been accused of transgressions during his Vietnam service, I need to come clean.

During my four glorious years of Air Force service, I was never more then 30 miles from St. Louis Mo. After about 2 years of service, I received a good conduct medal, and I'm ashamed to say now that I didn't deserve it. Sadly, there are many reasons for this, but among the more serious violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice were as follows:

I traveled when off duty more then 150 miles from my base without authorization.

During my late shift teaching, I often wore civilian cloths, not my uniform I often played golf when I should have been teaching if I could get someone to cover my class.

There were more serious offences, but that's for another time. Having revealed these things I now feel much better, and much safer.

Our administration has found out that they as I can get away with the same things.

They are experts at denial.

They blame other people

They change the subject

The media can report on the allegations from the anti Kerry Swift boat people, but to give them a platform for what they are doing is reprehensible. I am aware that the "news providers " are in the "ratings" business. But they are purported to be journalists, and by letting this stuff air without journalist overview is reprehensible.

I expect that they, (the administration), have no shame, but to "tolerate, allow or encourage these allegations" is just wrong. And now to have Bob Doles voice join in the fracas and say "He got himself into this wicket now where he can't extricate himself because not every one of these people can be Republican liars"

Senator Dole: Why not?

On the other hand, my hat is off in a way to the Presidents people for their well structured denials, blame of other people, and best of all, while people are unemployed, getting killed in Iraq, and so many without medical coverage they have "changed the subject" and it has worked. I wouldn't be proud of having done what they have done, but apparently their "end" justifies their means, how sad.

Norman Horowitz

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