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The U.S. Senate just passed this Act declaring that John McCain, born in the nation of Panama (that's not a state in the U.S.A.) is "a natural-born citizen."

Isn't that really convenient? This way, the nation gets to avoid various substantial ethics-violation charges and an impeachment if and as Panama-born McCain is ever elected to and then sworn into the Office of the President, an office that is restricted to and only to persons born in the United States of America.

So, now that restriction has been broadened to include McCain, a person born in Panama, born on a U.S. military base to U.S. citizen parents, he's been tweaked into "natural-born" status by the Senate while he is anything but natural-born to any other definition of the expression. This is madness.

The fact is, the reality is, that McCain was not born in the U.S.A. and he's not a "natural-born citizen." Except, now the Senate declares him so, so, I guess that means the moon's not made of creme cheese, except when it's running for President.

I was interested to read this recent entry by Greg Gutfeld on his blog -- "REPLACE-ALOGUE: LIKE WATER FOR VODKA" -- because I'd grown weary otherwise of anticipating anyone else would ever understand me when I've asked, numerous times in my life, "why drink decaffeinated coffee? I mean, it's coffee, you drink it BECAUSE it's caffeinated! What's the point, otherwise?"

Drinking "decaffeinated coffee" is a contradiction of terms. It's like saying, "I'll have vodka but pour water into the glass instead and tell me it's vodka."

I wrote about the water-to-vodka comparison on my own before I read Gutfeld's piece -- similarly titled (thus, I applied quotation marks to my title but I'd already written it -- a bit of kiss-up to Gutfeld if nothing else), but found his blog after writing my draft here and then wondering if there was anyone else in this whole wide world who could see or ever has seen the obvious about this dratted invention that strips the merit out of coffee and then perpetuates the lie about the icky substance that remains: a decaffeinated, liquid nonsense. Numerous times I've stood in an aisle in COSTCO while buying "the real thing" with strange people scurrying to buy, otherwise, "decaffeinated coffee," who stare at me with that empty and blank, glassy wide-eyed, silent look at my persistent questions -- "what's the point"? -- as to their intents.

If you want water, order water. If you want vodka, order vodka. If you want coffee, order coffee. If you want "decaffeinated coffee," order coffee icecream or just stir some brown sugar -- or other flavoring substance with a caramel or chocolate color -- in water, heat it up and then lie to yourself that you're drinking something else.

One of life's little ongoing self deceits: "decaffeinated coffee" ~is~ coffee, when it really isn't. No more than a bucket on a set of roller skates is a Mercedes Benz...except when you pretend it so. A big imagination is a wonderful thing as long as you know what you're doing.

I'm peeved with this dratted "google-analytics.com" holdup on each site I try to access that deploys this stalker (tracking) cookie. The pages "load...load...load" while waiting for the google-launched java scripted "cookie" to complete it's exchange attempt with my browser.

Google should not be involved as third-party intruder to site access traffic. Or if they insist (and they do), then a seamless process needs to be developed (however, the process is what's dubious here -- and google goes beyond gathering site traffic).

For sites that join in this tracking cookie deed -- formally, they're sites on which Google "helps website owners analyze how users use their sites," (to the utter annoyance of many people who attempt site visits) -- the process is irritating to what would otherwise be a unique visit.

Most everyone who administers a website recognizes the usefulness of logging and monitoring site traffic; but the effect the google-analytics tracking activity has on affected sites is that it actually discourages site traffic.

Websites that enable google-analytics discourage traffic and if what they actually seek is to record and monitor site traffic in general, they would be better to stear away from google-analytics; thus, for sites that use google-analytics, I question their motives because they're reaching for increased information as to site traffic per visitor.

Places such as Breitbart, for starters. I'd like to just access Breitbart and just read a frickin' article or view a frickin' video but I have to wait a prolonged while until google-analytics.com concludes it's attempts to do it's deed before the content will load (the site loads, but once specific content is selected, then comes the wait for the google-analytics.com tracking cookie).

And that means, when I have a lot to do, I then discontinue the attempt to visit that (any similar) site because I have other things to do than wait for billionaires to pad their bank accounts and exploit my browsing. Sometimes it's necessary to accomplish a whole lot in perhaps thirty minutes and waiting thirty-to-forty seconds for purposes of indulging a tracking cookie is not tolerable to the detriment of other information that can be done in that time elsewhere.

I dig marketing as much as anyone but the google-analytics stalking-tracking stuff is just too much for my sense of good manners and my patience while their participating sites pause on pause while pausing on pause while the internet waits on pause for google-analytics to run up behind your site visit so as to loiter there.

Google gets a lump of coal for this activity this "Holiday Season" from me.

To everyone else, MERRY CHRISTMAS!