The biggest news of the week was about the king that England will have in around 40 or 50 years. So don’t be surprised to find two entries on this subject in this week’s OpinionList.

Kate Middleton Did What?!: She’s an uncommon commoner: gorgeous, nice and the mother of England’s future king. She will become Queen Consort the day that Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, becomes king of England. But she has impressed me most for leaving the hospital on July 23rd, one day after giving birth. You can call her Duchess, I’ll call her Wonder Woman.

What’s In A Name?: Sometimes a noun. George Alexander Louis, the name given to the future king of England spells GAL. Maybe it doesn’t mean much to the English, but on this side of the Atlantic it means girl. Consequently, I’d hesitate to engrave these initials on any luggage or personal items. Then again, who’s ever going to dare to bully a future king?

“Trayvon Could Have Been Me”: Twice in his presidency President Obama has revealed who he is as a person . The first was after the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre, the second and most recent with his speech regarding the Trayvon Martin verdict. I am proud to have him as our President, and it’s at times like these that I feel the contrast between his actions and those of the obstructionist GOP most keenly. I can only wonder how much better off we would be if the GOP had worked closer with the President and the Democrats in Congress these past 5 years.  Unfortunately, we will never know.

President Obama’s Economy Speech:  The Atlantic’s analysis on President Obama’s economy speech at Knox College on Wednesday states that it was more a political speech designed to point out the difficulties he faces with an obstructionist GOP than on the economy. I, for one, am glad. I’ve been waiting for the President to clearly point out to the American people how irresponsible the GOP has been. The Knox College speech was a good start.

When 75 Will Be Middle Aged: Prudential has recently launched an ad with the claim, “The first person to live to 150 is alive today.” Rob Lowe’s character Chris Traeger on Parks & Recreation lives to fulfill  this prediction, and while he’s a fictional character, he  strikes the right chord representing all those health/exercise nuts (I use the term endearingly) who believe the same thing. Newsweek presents two opposing views on whether or not we can reach immortality. I believe that we can, although we will probably have to find several planets in the process. I find the idea of living forever overwhelming, but I admit to preferring it to the alternative. As I’ve said in the past, I’m not afraid of dying; it’s the being dead forever part that kills me.

The Good Wife?: I didn’t think that it would be possible to be shocked more after finding out that Anthony Weiner continued his sexting practices after the 2011 scandal that led him to resign from Congress. But I was floored when I saw his wife Huma Abedin take the podium to defend him. Back in 2011, I thought that she resembled Alicia Florick’s character on the TV series The Good Wife: dignified, competent, and eventually forgiving. Today, I think that she’s as power hungry as he is. It’s either that or she’s so much in love with him that she’s delusional (and wimpy). I’ll bet on the former. In any case, I’m both Weinered- and wienered-out. Aren’t you?

 

Note:  Original Publication Date:  7-26-13. Publication date has been changed exclusively for display purposes.