The Race Card is Maxed Out

Having any doubts about Turkey's relationship with the West? If not, now might be a good time to start. Turkey and Iran are rumored to be helping Hezbollah to obtain weapons. The same Hezbollah that was informed that the U.N. would indict some of their members for the 2005 assassination of Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri. The same Hezbollah that has blamed Israel for the assassination. I didn't write about it when I read a few articles about it a few days ago, but in case you were unaware, the Lebanese military ambushed and murdered a high ranking (Lt. Col.) in the Israeli army. Scary stuff...

The Daily Show, much like Reed the Viking, seems to have noticed that the race card is maxed out. (H/T: Instapundit)

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Race Card Is Maxed Out
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Thought experiment: What would happen if the world stopped spinning? I sincerely hope that Keanu Reeves would play an integral role. (H/T: My bff Dr. Ago)

I'm a big fan of the show Psych, so I'm curious, is this the Australian edition of the show? "The Land Down (six feet) Under". That was my attempt at a clever psych name for the case. It's better than the other ones I was thinking of (The Murder of JonG'day Ramsey, being one example). The sad part? I forgot JonBenet Ramsey's name, so I literally had to google "little girl murder" and when that brought up too many results, I had to add the word famous to it. Guess who's on the FBI's red flag list now!

Example of how NOT to propose to your girlfrend.

Retarded war on drugs in Texas: 20 year old could get life sentence for half an ounce of medical marijuana (from his prescription in Cali) and some hash. The hilarious part is that those assholes appraised the weed at $2,400 ($171 a gram). I haven't been in college since 2008, but even with high inflation, a gram of weed couldn't possibly cost more than 25 bucks these days. Half an ounce? If it's the best weed evah, maybe $300-$400? Texas, you might be cool about guns, but this is ridiculous. It's settled, Texas isn't even in consideration anymore. In light of awesome political campaign ads and ease of getting a gun, I'm moving to Alabama (hopefully my kids will talk like Forrie Gump). In the cops' defense, that kid does look like a filthy hippie.

I've always known women to cheat more on their men than the other way around, and research has found that their flings are more emotionally invested. So why do men get caught more often when the statistics show that women cheat at least as much? Because we're dumb? I don't buy it, I think cheating men subconsciously feel guilty and want their loved ones to find out. Or they're dumb.

Apparently, mentioning BP donations to Obama is a partisan attack... D.C. Reporter suspended for reporting BP donations to Obama. Well, Obama does represent the party of the little guy, not like the rich big-wig fat cat Republicans who are all corporate and the corporations lobby and money and cars rich capitalism bad corporation ruin environment evil haliburton Dick Cheney Hitler. Newsflash: in March 2009, 70% of Wall Street political donations went to Democrats. Note, I do not mean this as a negative thing, I don't thing Wall Street donations are necessarily evil at all. The only reason I mention it is because the Dems like to employ class warfare and rail against the corporations and Wall Street, but they're no less corporate than the Republicans. The rhetoric is all there, but they pull the same shit. The article also mentions that Wall Street would love Chris Christie for Prez. They must read my blog down there.

Ace of Spades has a great post about The "Neutral Story Line" and "Guess That Party." It's long, and it's not news to me, but it's well written and really shows how the media reacts to the same story when it crops up for Democrats as opposed to Republicans. It's a predictable game to those who pay attention, but if you only read the NYT/WaPo and watch CNN, I wouldn't be surprised if it's new to you.

Paul Krugman called Paul Ryan a "fraud that makes no useful contribution to the debate over America's fiscal future." That's some useful contribution Krugman makes to the debate, demagoging (note: I don't know what demagogery really is, but it's fun to say) somebody who actually mapped out a detailed plan to fix our fiscal house. If he hadn't come up with a plan, I'm sure the meme would be, "Republicans are complaining about our financial situation whilst contributing no useful ideas for solving the issue." It's some sort of win-win situation for Republicans, where instead of winning no matter what they do, they lose. Off-Topic: Politicians are like Aliens Vs. Predator... Whoever wins, we lose. I tend to think Republicans are Aliens, because they're obviously sexist with the way they try to ruin Ripley's career. At least Paul Ryan is being honest with the problems we're facing; everybody talks about cuts, but he's actually detailed WHAT to cut. And for this, he's called a fraud. I think Paul Krugman also said that Ryan was abused by his uncle as a child, and thus, is damaged goods. Also, Ryan eats babies. Dems used to be the ones who didn't trust the gov't, who fought the man. Now, with Christie and Ryan kicking ass and sticking it to the man, the true punks are all Republicans. Yeah, Paul Ryan is so punk rawk.

From Are We Lumberjacks, an interesting look on the most energy and space efficient modes of transportation.

One time during my training, I was out at the coffee shop during break and chatting with my friends. I was joking and talking about my "lessons" learned in the Navy. Mainly, that their core values of Honor, Courage, and Commitment were discouraged because you get penalized for being honorable, courageous, and committed. They'll tell you to do the right thing, and then the right thing will totally fuck you over. I was talking about this at the coffee shop and I jokingly said something to the effect of, "The Navy has taught me that when you see something wrong happening, close your eyes, leave, pretend you never saw anything, and never tell anybody." Standing a few feet from me was a little asian woman in civilian clothes who looked pretty pissed and asked if that was really what I thought. I later found out she was a Marine Captain. What does this story have to do with anything? Hero Postmaster who tried to stop armed robbers, getting injured in the process, is being fined thousands of pounds. It's like life is emulating The Incredibles, where doing the right thing gets you punished. I guess it makes guys like me who do the right thing all the more impressive, but one can't help feeling like a chump sometimes.

From Break.com, a gallery of ironic t-shirts in mugshot pictures. It's hit or miss, but some are damn great. Here's one of my favorites, the Break caption being "Not yet, Buddy":

Exit quotes from Kenny Powers' twitter:

"Working on my prostitution memoirs "Eat Pray Bone."

"Losers are just morons who don't have the balls to cheat" That ties into what I was just saying!

Exit question from Alex Baze's twitter:

"Who did the guy running against Hitler compare him to?"

Exit question from Reed the Viking:

"Who the fuck is Alex Baze?"

Comments

[Thesadredearth]

Reed, some thoughts on feeling like a chump. As admirable as the U.S. military and those who serve in it are, it is an organization nonetheless. Organizations seek to protect themselves. They will often sacrifice the individual for what they imagine to be the greater organizational interest. Just because the military draws many idealistic people to it, that doesn't exempt it from human and organizational nature.

As you see from the captain, there are, indeed, other idealistic people in the military, despite the shortcomings. That's pretty much the way of the world. That's why we need a military, that's why we need honorable people, and that's why honorable people cannot count on being rewarded - even on not being wronged - for doing right. We don't do right in order to ensure we get what we think is coming to us - that's what tempts people to do wrong. We do right simply because it is right. That's what makes it honorable. Honor has to be its own reward, or it isn't honor. And that is also why those put their lives at risk for their fellows commit their lives with honor, because what they may get for it in the end is dead. Even if the world does them wrong, there will be people who know the truth and who will honor them for it. And even if no one knows in the end but the individual himself, that has to be enough, because that's the world, and that's honor.

To share a bond with others who think and feel the same way has to be a deep satisfaction that most people will not get to experience.

[Thesadredearth]

Reed, as a follow-up on my thoughts and the potential loneliness of the honorable, I thought I'd recommend the great Jean-Pierre Melville film about the French Resistance, *Army of Shadows*. If you're interested, you can read an article I wrote on the film at Bright Lights Film Journal: "Resistance, Rebellion, and Death" (http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/53/shadows.php)

[The Viking]

Thanks for some perspective, I hope I didn't come off as somebody who does good things with the expectation of being rewarded. My parents didn't raise me that way, although they did utilize Jewish guilt to make sure that if I don't do the right thing, it eats me alive until I correct myself. But like you said, there's the easy way and then there's the right way, and they're usually not the same.

I guess what makes it especially hard sometimes is that the Navy's moral code and my personal moral code greatly differ at times, but I have to adhere to the Navy's. Example: I have some underage friends, and though I never enable them to drink while I'm around, if I were to find out one of them had been drinking, the Navy's "right thing to do" would be to tell a supervisor. That gives me the moral dilemma of which "right" thing is the real "right" thing. Is ruining a friends career (even though they made a mistake, so in the Navy's eyes, they ruined their own career by breaking the law) the honorable thing? It certainly covers my ass... My navy training and my life experiences tell me different answers to that question, thankfully I don't put myself in a position to truly have to ask it to myself.

[Thesadredearth]

No, I didn't mean to suggest you came off that way at all. Sorry if I gave that impression. It's a bitter pill when the right things gets pissed on. That's why it helps to know the stories of others, in writing or films or personal accounts. We all need the reminder, and it's clear your parents didn't raise you that way. As for the Jewish guilt, just think of it as a cultural inheritance, less tasty than knishes, but longer lasting.