Friday, December 31, 2010
Epic, My Ass
Could someone please explain to me how a post on the interweb can be considered "EPIC?" Does anyone know the definition of epic? The Universe is epic, because its size boggles the mind. A less than funny story of how the dog jumped on your Aunt Jane and smudged her new dress is not epic. Actually it is just plain stupid and hardly worthy of the time it took to type. Now just because you own a shirt from Hot Topic that is a by-product of a dying and very lame trend of saying everything is epic doesn't mean that it is. Almost nothing is epic. Now I am epic because my greatness is beyond comprehension, but I will freely admit that as far as epic goes, I am the smallest and most insignificant example of what can be construed as such. Sometimes I think I am only just awesome because to actually use the word epic so out of context is the folly of the cheese.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
A Pool and a Hose
As an electrician I have something in common with doctors. We both diagnose and fix problems. We are also approached in public places to have said problems explained to us in murky details. Unlike a doctor however, electricians are expected to explain how to fix problems so the homeowner can fix it themselves and therefore avoid paying for the expertise. People also think that since this is what we do for a living that we just love to do it in during our free time and should come over bright and early in the morning to do so. Wrong!
I understand that it is human nature to not want to pay for things. This is especially true when friends are involved. I am reminded of the time I wired my buddy's new inground pool. He and his wife want for nothing and regularly take vacations, go on cruises and have a home full of expensive gadgets. So when I acquire much of the materials for this install from work, at my own peril, I should not have to listen to his wife cry poverty when I ask for the ninety bucks that I had to spend at the hardware store for the things I could not acquire. Seriously, am I supposed to pay you to do this for you? "We aren't made of money" is a shitty thing to say when I already saved you hundreds.
So it took every bit of imagination I could muster to get power to the pool location, and quite a bit of expertise. There I am with the sun beating down on me in ninety degree heat when my buddy dares suggest that "we should do this as a business. We could make some nice money." Now the fact that he hasn't lifted a finger to help, nor has he yet to offer me a beer, seems insignificant to the fact that I know he isn't going to pay me shit for all of this work. The irony seems lost on him, but what are friends for, right? Of course I was right. Adding insult to injury he tells me the electrical inspector told him it was the nicest installation he had ever seen. Of course it is.
A year later my buddy's brother moves in down the street from me. His family is somewhat poor but again he always seems to have money for snowmobiles and for his RV and for the kind of things that I do without. He knocks on my door and asks me if I would be interested in wiring his new pool when it gets installed next week. Well here we go again. I guess at least I can take a dip when the summer heat becomes unbearable, which never happens, but I digress.
We begin by heading to the local electrical supplier so he can open an account. This helps to avoid the inevitable arguments over the cost of materials. The clerks suggest an account of $1200. It better not cost me that much, he moans, as I already spent seventeen grand on the damn pool already. It seems to fall on deaf ears when the merchant tries to explain that what he will need for the job is simply that expensive. The clerk and I share an awkward moment as the guy walks out of the store, hops in the vehicle, and slams the door (to my fucking truck no less!). This does not bode well for my bottom line. I am pretty sure I am going to get stiffed. The merchant ran his credit application anyway and later told me it was rejected. Of course it was.
Naturally I cannot get the work done fast enough for his liking, even when "borrowing" a couple hundred dollars worth of wire from my employer to try and save his some cash. He seems indifferent to the fact that I had to rewire half of his service panel and add a sub-panel just to make room. To make a long story short I bust my ass on the sunny side of the house for a week and do a superb job. Then the guy doesn't even give me the case of beer he said he would give me for all of my effort, which in all reality should have been about fifty cases and the hundreds for the materials. He then has the nerve to come knocking again when he destroyed all of the switches and outlets across the yard from the pumps by crushing them with the excavator he was using to install his fence. I told him I would be up when I was able. I never went back and I have yet to be invited for a swim. Ain't that a peach?
This is why they say never loan money to friends, or in this case try not to work for them. You will just get hosed in the end. If you make a big stink about getting paid then they stiff you anyway and you are then down a friend, therefore I tend to just let it go. I make it back when I can, perhaps when running into them in a social setting like at a tavern. When they come back from the bar I ask them where my drink is. When they say drinks are like four bucks I respond "well that was about the cost of just one of those fittings that you never paid for on your pool pump." If the guilt isn't enough to get them to go back to the bar then it was nice knowing you.
I understand that it is human nature to not want to pay for things. This is especially true when friends are involved. I am reminded of the time I wired my buddy's new inground pool. He and his wife want for nothing and regularly take vacations, go on cruises and have a home full of expensive gadgets. So when I acquire much of the materials for this install from work, at my own peril, I should not have to listen to his wife cry poverty when I ask for the ninety bucks that I had to spend at the hardware store for the things I could not acquire. Seriously, am I supposed to pay you to do this for you? "We aren't made of money" is a shitty thing to say when I already saved you hundreds.
So it took every bit of imagination I could muster to get power to the pool location, and quite a bit of expertise. There I am with the sun beating down on me in ninety degree heat when my buddy dares suggest that "we should do this as a business. We could make some nice money." Now the fact that he hasn't lifted a finger to help, nor has he yet to offer me a beer, seems insignificant to the fact that I know he isn't going to pay me shit for all of this work. The irony seems lost on him, but what are friends for, right? Of course I was right. Adding insult to injury he tells me the electrical inspector told him it was the nicest installation he had ever seen. Of course it is.
A year later my buddy's brother moves in down the street from me. His family is somewhat poor but again he always seems to have money for snowmobiles and for his RV and for the kind of things that I do without. He knocks on my door and asks me if I would be interested in wiring his new pool when it gets installed next week. Well here we go again. I guess at least I can take a dip when the summer heat becomes unbearable, which never happens, but I digress.
We begin by heading to the local electrical supplier so he can open an account. This helps to avoid the inevitable arguments over the cost of materials. The clerks suggest an account of $1200. It better not cost me that much, he moans, as I already spent seventeen grand on the damn pool already. It seems to fall on deaf ears when the merchant tries to explain that what he will need for the job is simply that expensive. The clerk and I share an awkward moment as the guy walks out of the store, hops in the vehicle, and slams the door (to my fucking truck no less!). This does not bode well for my bottom line. I am pretty sure I am going to get stiffed. The merchant ran his credit application anyway and later told me it was rejected. Of course it was.
Naturally I cannot get the work done fast enough for his liking, even when "borrowing" a couple hundred dollars worth of wire from my employer to try and save his some cash. He seems indifferent to the fact that I had to rewire half of his service panel and add a sub-panel just to make room. To make a long story short I bust my ass on the sunny side of the house for a week and do a superb job. Then the guy doesn't even give me the case of beer he said he would give me for all of my effort, which in all reality should have been about fifty cases and the hundreds for the materials. He then has the nerve to come knocking again when he destroyed all of the switches and outlets across the yard from the pumps by crushing them with the excavator he was using to install his fence. I told him I would be up when I was able. I never went back and I have yet to be invited for a swim. Ain't that a peach?
This is why they say never loan money to friends, or in this case try not to work for them. You will just get hosed in the end. If you make a big stink about getting paid then they stiff you anyway and you are then down a friend, therefore I tend to just let it go. I make it back when I can, perhaps when running into them in a social setting like at a tavern. When they come back from the bar I ask them where my drink is. When they say drinks are like four bucks I respond "well that was about the cost of just one of those fittings that you never paid for on your pool pump." If the guilt isn't enough to get them to go back to the bar then it was nice knowing you.
Permanent Dismember
In my never ending search for the ultimate in irony I focus today on the United Nations and the fact that the five permanent members on the U.N. Security Council (U.S., U.K., China, Russia and France) also happen to be the five largest arms dealers on the planet. So what exactly do they mean by "security?"
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Look Who Is Getting Rich
These Cap-and-Trade assholes are trying to thwart the traditional system of getting rich using the atmosphere as an open sewer by attacking capitalism itself. Everybody knows that these so-called "scientists" need to produce the fake results needed so as to keep their funding rolling in. That researcher living in the Arctic just wants to live the good life, man. They are trying to make it so I cannot afford to have my illegal immigrant gardener cut my grass every two and a half days and I fear for what our country is becoming if these socialists get their way. If they have invested in alternative energy technologies then they are in on it and are liars, as opposed to those of us heavily invested in oil stocks. We have the best interests of America at heart, and by America we mean not you.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
FIRST, and the nonsense of internet comments
Let's get one thing straight about posting shit to the web and that is that 99.9% of the people who do so have nothing of substance to say. This is obvious by looking at any public comment section of any thread on any website on any planet. If it is not filled with mindless drivel then it is filled with nearly mindless drivel. It makes me weep for the future of humanity.
First:
The assholes that find an empty comment section and feel the need to type [FIRST] are indeed assholes and should type what they really mean, which is "Hey look at me as I have absolutely nothing relevent to say!" Then you have your serial first'ers, who have achieved a special and once thought unachievable level of idiocy, planning their day around when fresh content gets posted at their favorite firsting sites. At least be creative and type [FIST] or something not so fucking stupid. And no, [SECOND] is not creative, nor is typing [FIRST] when you are like seventh. This just exposes your mental deficiencies to the world.
Politics:
There is no bigger waste of time than discussing politics on the web with anyone other than actual politicians. Absolutely nothing can be accomplished in a discussion with anyone else. There is so little understanding of what politics is and what government does, so much disinformation and spin to manipulate the sheeple, and such a lack of respect for others that you would be better served to change the minds of religious folks about the existence of god than you would be to make a political point in a forum where comments are allowed. Even when making well thought out and articulate points based in fact, you will be told in no uncertain terms how fucking stupid you are. The typical exchange goes something like this:
Me: I can't imagine that had regulations been in effect, G.E.'s CEO certainly would have been denied the ability to underreserve losses to make the near-term results appear to have AAA status. The right wing however dismantled those regulations years ago and now G.E.'s unstable short-term financing strategy will cost the taxpayers billions.
Dickhead righty: STFU you idiot and go back to reading the DailyKos with the rest of your liberal, pansy-ass, tree-hugging, communist assholes.
Now don't get me wrong, as I am very impressed by your complete lack of integrity, but there should be a squad that comes to your house and shoots you in the head when you post shit like that. It would be good for America, and not in a suppressing your freedom of speech kind of way but in more of a you have no redeeming qualities and have nothing to add to society so die kind of way.
Religion:
If you would like to see religious folk violate everything they preach, simply disagree with them on the internet and point out the evils that their religion has demonstrated since its inception. Remember to emphasize that there is no magic god up in the sky who is granting all of their wishes. Point out that they have a history of violence and of suppressing scientific ideas that would dare contradict their nonsensical superstitious notions conjured by nomadic, sand-dwelling simpletons from thousands of years ago. Also make mention of the pedophilia and that the Pope is a criminal. They especially like this.
All Other Subjects:
Regardless of the content, the insults fly endlessly. Perhaps people feel safe hiding behind the anonymity the internet provides? Even so, it is the special asshole who cannot just walk away from something he reads that he may disagree with, but needs to jump through his ass to leave a negative comment. Sometimes this even involves signing up to a site, retrieving an authorization from your email, and the creation of an account that you will never use again just to tell someone you have never met or that you know absolutely nothing about to fuck off.
Me: That is the internet in a nutshell, my friends.
Interneter: Nutshell THIS!
First:
The assholes that find an empty comment section and feel the need to type [FIRST] are indeed assholes and should type what they really mean, which is "Hey look at me as I have absolutely nothing relevent to say!" Then you have your serial first'ers, who have achieved a special and once thought unachievable level of idiocy, planning their day around when fresh content gets posted at their favorite firsting sites. At least be creative and type [FIST] or something not so fucking stupid. And no, [SECOND] is not creative, nor is typing [FIRST] when you are like seventh. This just exposes your mental deficiencies to the world.
Politics:
There is no bigger waste of time than discussing politics on the web with anyone other than actual politicians. Absolutely nothing can be accomplished in a discussion with anyone else. There is so little understanding of what politics is and what government does, so much disinformation and spin to manipulate the sheeple, and such a lack of respect for others that you would be better served to change the minds of religious folks about the existence of god than you would be to make a political point in a forum where comments are allowed. Even when making well thought out and articulate points based in fact, you will be told in no uncertain terms how fucking stupid you are. The typical exchange goes something like this:
Me: I can't imagine that had regulations been in effect, G.E.'s CEO certainly would have been denied the ability to underreserve losses to make the near-term results appear to have AAA status. The right wing however dismantled those regulations years ago and now G.E.'s unstable short-term financing strategy will cost the taxpayers billions.
Dickhead righty: STFU you idiot and go back to reading the DailyKos with the rest of your liberal, pansy-ass, tree-hugging, communist assholes.
Now don't get me wrong, as I am very impressed by your complete lack of integrity, but there should be a squad that comes to your house and shoots you in the head when you post shit like that. It would be good for America, and not in a suppressing your freedom of speech kind of way but in more of a you have no redeeming qualities and have nothing to add to society so die kind of way.
Religion:
If you would like to see religious folk violate everything they preach, simply disagree with them on the internet and point out the evils that their religion has demonstrated since its inception. Remember to emphasize that there is no magic god up in the sky who is granting all of their wishes. Point out that they have a history of violence and of suppressing scientific ideas that would dare contradict their nonsensical superstitious notions conjured by nomadic, sand-dwelling simpletons from thousands of years ago. Also make mention of the pedophilia and that the Pope is a criminal. They especially like this.
All Other Subjects:
Regardless of the content, the insults fly endlessly. Perhaps people feel safe hiding behind the anonymity the internet provides? Even so, it is the special asshole who cannot just walk away from something he reads that he may disagree with, but needs to jump through his ass to leave a negative comment. Sometimes this even involves signing up to a site, retrieving an authorization from your email, and the creation of an account that you will never use again just to tell someone you have never met or that you know absolutely nothing about to fuck off.
Me: That is the internet in a nutshell, my friends.
Interneter: Nutshell THIS!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Internet Commercials
Why is it that I am forced to watch a thirty second commercial for Cover Girl make-up before being allowed to watch the twelve second clip I wanted to see? I don't buy make-up so your commercial is irrelevent to my life. Is it not enough that I have searched out your website and am already being bombarded with advertising? Must you shove even more in my face? Don't you know we are opening another browser window and clicking elsewhere for even this short of a duration for no other reason that to avoid your television-esque sales pitches? Our time is precious and the thirty second commercial format does not belong in cyberspace.
This is the same reason that terrestrial radio is dying a slow death. Their infinite greed has led to the oversaturation of commericals in the programming to the point of their product being repulsive. Therefore when commercials are forced upon me I vow to never visit your site again. Not only that, but I also vow never to buy the product you are advertising. The sites not engaging in this behavior are becoming fewer and fewer so my web usage of the future may be curtailed. Perhaps that is just the remedy I need to break me of this pointless habit of surfing useless information long after I have acquired the news of the day?
Thanks, Cover Girl! Thanks for not using a five second commercial that I would tolerate and to which demonstrate complete indifference. Thanks for not allowing that indifference to actually become an effective subliminal marketing strategy on your part. Thanks for waking me up and helping me realize I need to stop listening to your advertising altoghether using a pro-active technique. Thanks for shooting yourself in the foot on my behalf. Now if I can only get my wife to stop using your products....
This is the same reason that terrestrial radio is dying a slow death. Their infinite greed has led to the oversaturation of commericals in the programming to the point of their product being repulsive. Therefore when commercials are forced upon me I vow to never visit your site again. Not only that, but I also vow never to buy the product you are advertising. The sites not engaging in this behavior are becoming fewer and fewer so my web usage of the future may be curtailed. Perhaps that is just the remedy I need to break me of this pointless habit of surfing useless information long after I have acquired the news of the day?
Thanks, Cover Girl! Thanks for not using a five second commercial that I would tolerate and to which demonstrate complete indifference. Thanks for not allowing that indifference to actually become an effective subliminal marketing strategy on your part. Thanks for waking me up and helping me realize I need to stop listening to your advertising altoghether using a pro-active technique. Thanks for shooting yourself in the foot on my behalf. Now if I can only get my wife to stop using your products....
Saturday, March 20, 2010
A Pacifist, a Physicist, and an Emperor Walk Into a Bar...
"Religion is true for the poor, false for the wise, and useful for the rulers." -Mahatma Gandhi-
"It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it." -Albert Einstein, 1954-
Religion is what keeps the poor man from murdering the rich. Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet." -Napoleon Bonaparte-
"It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it." -Albert Einstein, 1954-
Religion is what keeps the poor man from murdering the rich. Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet." -Napoleon Bonaparte-
Friday, March 19, 2010
Q: Is God A Myth?
Maybe its just for tax reasons and the tax exempt status that religions enjoy? I wonder why the priests who molest children left in their care have no fear of a vengeful God? Why does the Pope not have the same fear as he not only hides these criminals from justice but inflicts them upon yet another unsuspecting parish who trusts their church not to send them someone who will fuck their children?
Why does and all-powerful God need these fucking retarded right-wingers to speak for him? Why does God not want healthcare for the less fortunate and children? Why does God need to send congressional lobbyists to do his work when healthcare reform would save taxpayers tens of billions of dollars? I've always known that God is bad with money, and even once sent him $1.95 for his polyester prayer handkerchief, but why wouldn't he just print his own currency if need be? I can't imagine that God wouldn't be an exceptional counterfeiter?
Why does God allow Haiti to shake itself apart and for it's children to suffer incalculable hardship? I know Pat Robertson said it was because Haiti made a deal with the devil. Why doesn't God just kill Pat Robertson with a bolt of lightning or with a meteor? How fucking hard is that for God? I can't imagine Pat has actually sent God any of the money that has been raised by using his name . At the very least God should sue Pat Robertson.
Even if there was an almighty creator of the heavens he certainly doesn't owe us a damned thing. Why do people endlessly ask him for shit? How fucking presumptuous! He gave you existence and now you want a BMW? Heart attack for you, you incredibly self-centered cocksucker. Quit asking God for shit he isn't going to give you and that you don't goddamned deserve. You also believe that God has a plan for you and has your life mapped out so quit second-guessing him by asking him to deviate from the plan and give you shit.
If you get the flu it is because God hates you. If you get a flat tire it is because God is bored and enjoys making your life miserable. If you lose a loved one it is because God loves to see you suffer. These are much more rational answers to life's grand questions that the one you have avoided your entire life. You know the question, don't you? You simply don't have the guts to ask it nor have you the strength to handle the answer.
Why does and all-powerful God need these fucking retarded right-wingers to speak for him? Why does God not want healthcare for the less fortunate and children? Why does God need to send congressional lobbyists to do his work when healthcare reform would save taxpayers tens of billions of dollars? I've always known that God is bad with money, and even once sent him $1.95 for his polyester prayer handkerchief, but why wouldn't he just print his own currency if need be? I can't imagine that God wouldn't be an exceptional counterfeiter?
Why does God allow Haiti to shake itself apart and for it's children to suffer incalculable hardship? I know Pat Robertson said it was because Haiti made a deal with the devil. Why doesn't God just kill Pat Robertson with a bolt of lightning or with a meteor? How fucking hard is that for God? I can't imagine Pat has actually sent God any of the money that has been raised by using his name . At the very least God should sue Pat Robertson.
Even if there was an almighty creator of the heavens he certainly doesn't owe us a damned thing. Why do people endlessly ask him for shit? How fucking presumptuous! He gave you existence and now you want a BMW? Heart attack for you, you incredibly self-centered cocksucker. Quit asking God for shit he isn't going to give you and that you don't goddamned deserve. You also believe that God has a plan for you and has your life mapped out so quit second-guessing him by asking him to deviate from the plan and give you shit.
If you get the flu it is because God hates you. If you get a flat tire it is because God is bored and enjoys making your life miserable. If you lose a loved one it is because God loves to see you suffer. These are much more rational answers to life's grand questions that the one you have avoided your entire life. You know the question, don't you? You simply don't have the guts to ask it nor have you the strength to handle the answer.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
K&S Carwash Will Wash My Truck For Free
Advertising on such an awesome blog ain't free, Kubarek. Now spitshine my balls.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Modern Work Ethic
There is one simple truth in my life. If I don't go to work then I don't get paid. There are no sick days or vacations. I also am expected to work, and work hard, every minute I am on the clock. There is no relaxing by the water cooler or discussing the events of the day. Get going and get the job done is the mantra of my employer.
What I have been noticing as of late are the young kids coming into the business. They tend to stand around until given explicit instructions as to what to do. They complain when given the duties of an entry level employee, as if such work is below them? They whine about their commute and continuously complain about their expectations of working close to home. It is as though things no longer being handed to them is a shock? "This sucks" is a common theme.
The same trend is occuring in the corporate world. Company managers cannot keep young employees happy. The kids think they deserve a middle management job straight out of school. Managers continually give these kids fewer and fewer duties and when this isn't enough the kids just go down the street to the competition and work there, or better still just quit and move back in with mom and dad. The parents readily take them in since they have already been coddling them all of their lives anyway.
I write this now because of an experience I had yesterday. An acquaintance of mine recently got a job working for the maintenance department of my city. He is the low man on the totem pole but speaks of his job as though he is a veteran. When telling a story of a woman complaing about dangerous potholes in her street, this kid's response was that "we'll get to it as soon as we have the time." He said this as he was mockingly pretending to deal around the table from a deck of cards. "The nerve," I though to myself.
This is symptomatic of the work ethic held by most of our youth. Instead of being happy to even have a decent paying job and working hard to excel, they fall right into the trap of doing as little as they can get away with. This does not bode well for the competitiveness of our nation and it's future. The sense of entitlement is so pervasive that there seems to be no cure. I guess only after our economy crashes and these kids go hungry for the first time will their survival instincts actually kick in.
What I have been noticing as of late are the young kids coming into the business. They tend to stand around until given explicit instructions as to what to do. They complain when given the duties of an entry level employee, as if such work is below them? They whine about their commute and continuously complain about their expectations of working close to home. It is as though things no longer being handed to them is a shock? "This sucks" is a common theme.
The same trend is occuring in the corporate world. Company managers cannot keep young employees happy. The kids think they deserve a middle management job straight out of school. Managers continually give these kids fewer and fewer duties and when this isn't enough the kids just go down the street to the competition and work there, or better still just quit and move back in with mom and dad. The parents readily take them in since they have already been coddling them all of their lives anyway.
I write this now because of an experience I had yesterday. An acquaintance of mine recently got a job working for the maintenance department of my city. He is the low man on the totem pole but speaks of his job as though he is a veteran. When telling a story of a woman complaing about dangerous potholes in her street, this kid's response was that "we'll get to it as soon as we have the time." He said this as he was mockingly pretending to deal around the table from a deck of cards. "The nerve," I though to myself.
This is symptomatic of the work ethic held by most of our youth. Instead of being happy to even have a decent paying job and working hard to excel, they fall right into the trap of doing as little as they can get away with. This does not bode well for the competitiveness of our nation and it's future. The sense of entitlement is so pervasive that there seems to be no cure. I guess only after our economy crashes and these kids go hungry for the first time will their survival instincts actually kick in.
Evanagelical Bullshit
It never ceases to amaze me how the ultra-religious have free reign over rewriting history. They are doing it in Texas, forcing schoolchildren to learn the ways of the neo-con from kindergarten on up. Gone is the study of Thomas Jefferson, as he is suddenly not "founding fatherly" enough (or not Christian enough). His replacement in school textbooks is not suprisingly right-winger John Calvin, and of course Ronald Reagan. Allowing evangelicals to dictate what school boards will do simply results in the sanctioning of religious doctrine into our schools. This is what evengelicals do. They firmly believe that God is on their side of the political spectrum.
I was watching a story on CNN of a Florida city manager who was doing a fine job up until it was revealed that he was a transgender. Suddenly this man was not fit for office, according to the religious nut jobs who very unconstitutionally apply a litmus test to such an office. I couldn't believe my eyes and ears when a local reverend stood before the city council and declared that "he knows quite a lot about the Bible and scripture and that if Jesus was here that he himself would advocate for the firing of this city manager." Really?" That is what Jesus would do? I was half-heartedly waiting for this "man of God" to proclaim "give us Barabas!"
Checking my social networking pages also resulted in an onslaught of the right-wing religious types. One "friend" actually wrote to me that "this country was founded by christians" and that "nobody named Mohammed had signed the Constitution." Now trying to explain to the ignorant that this country was founded by secularists, first and foremost, and that the very removal of religion from governance was a primary directive of the framers of this nation, well, was basically a collosal waste of time. I have little doubt that those who would pen such statements about how only christians signed our founding documents also have little understanding of what these documents stand for.
It is shameful when those who are privileged enough to bask in the freedom that this country provides turn the very meaning of that freedom on it's head and allow their bigotry and biases to negate the wisdom of those who came before us. Certainly nobody named Mohammed signed the U.S. Constitution but had they done so would you feel differently centuries later when such a point was used to legislate teachings opposed to your belief system into school curricula? This country was founded on the idea of freedom and not just the freedom to agree with you.
I was watching a story on CNN of a Florida city manager who was doing a fine job up until it was revealed that he was a transgender. Suddenly this man was not fit for office, according to the religious nut jobs who very unconstitutionally apply a litmus test to such an office. I couldn't believe my eyes and ears when a local reverend stood before the city council and declared that "he knows quite a lot about the Bible and scripture and that if Jesus was here that he himself would advocate for the firing of this city manager." Really?" That is what Jesus would do? I was half-heartedly waiting for this "man of God" to proclaim "give us Barabas!"
Checking my social networking pages also resulted in an onslaught of the right-wing religious types. One "friend" actually wrote to me that "this country was founded by christians" and that "nobody named Mohammed had signed the Constitution." Now trying to explain to the ignorant that this country was founded by secularists, first and foremost, and that the very removal of religion from governance was a primary directive of the framers of this nation, well, was basically a collosal waste of time. I have little doubt that those who would pen such statements about how only christians signed our founding documents also have little understanding of what these documents stand for.
It is shameful when those who are privileged enough to bask in the freedom that this country provides turn the very meaning of that freedom on it's head and allow their bigotry and biases to negate the wisdom of those who came before us. Certainly nobody named Mohammed signed the U.S. Constitution but had they done so would you feel differently centuries later when such a point was used to legislate teachings opposed to your belief system into school curricula? This country was founded on the idea of freedom and not just the freedom to agree with you.
C'mon Blogspot? What gives?
Why when I use the [next blog>] function to randomly peruse any given blog do I see an endless succession of blogs written around the very same theme? Yesterday all I saw was blogs about bicycling. Today it is motorcycles. I have the sneaking suspicion that some variable of my web surfing is being apllied to the blogs offered me to read? I can't help but think that something heinous is afoot at the Circle K (or the square B).
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
We're All Fucking Idiots!
What in the hell has happened to us? Why can't I find a single public forum on the internet where people aren't calling each other assholes or motherfuckers or nazis or commies or shitheads or French? Its almost as though proper discourse has completely broken down? Gone is any empathy for the ideas and beliefs of others, replaced by informing those fucking stupid enough to be in disagreement with us that in fact they are fucking stupid.
I cannot even look at the comments on a site like Youtube anymore, for doing so make me want to fly a plane into any random building in the hopes that someone, sometime, authored a forum comment on the web. Are we that fucking spoiled and ignorant that we no longer debate courses of action and their associated possible outcomes but instead insult each others' mothers because the anonymous dipshit inside my computer screen voted for the other guy? And its not just shitty sites like Youtube either.
I actually was reading the other night an incredibly polite yet remarkably ugly argument on the forum for world grand masters of chess. How deflating to witness an official from the governing body of the game more or less call a world reknowned player an idiot and then diss him like an episode one might witness on the schoolyard. Forget checkmate. I smash your game board, cover my ears, and sing Kumbaya until you go away. Now I am no sociologist, but when the smart people start behaving like savages then there is little doubt we are fucked as a society.
What can we do about this sad condition we find ourselves in? The very fact that modern-day kids cannot focus beyond their next text message, let alone take responsibility for the garbage they espouse electronically, says little about future generations remedying said problem. Perhaps we are doomed and headed for the complete breakdown of manners and protocol in society? Our political processes have been hinting at this for years. Are we prepared for what this all means? Would a simple "please" and "thank you," coupled with the occassional "I stand corrected" save western civilization from it's inevitable unraveling? If you answered STFU then I should have legal license to end your miserable existence in the most efficient manner available. That sounds fair to me. Would you concur, my friend?
I cannot even look at the comments on a site like Youtube anymore, for doing so make me want to fly a plane into any random building in the hopes that someone, sometime, authored a forum comment on the web. Are we that fucking spoiled and ignorant that we no longer debate courses of action and their associated possible outcomes but instead insult each others' mothers because the anonymous dipshit inside my computer screen voted for the other guy? And its not just shitty sites like Youtube either.
I actually was reading the other night an incredibly polite yet remarkably ugly argument on the forum for world grand masters of chess. How deflating to witness an official from the governing body of the game more or less call a world reknowned player an idiot and then diss him like an episode one might witness on the schoolyard. Forget checkmate. I smash your game board, cover my ears, and sing Kumbaya until you go away. Now I am no sociologist, but when the smart people start behaving like savages then there is little doubt we are fucked as a society.
What can we do about this sad condition we find ourselves in? The very fact that modern-day kids cannot focus beyond their next text message, let alone take responsibility for the garbage they espouse electronically, says little about future generations remedying said problem. Perhaps we are doomed and headed for the complete breakdown of manners and protocol in society? Our political processes have been hinting at this for years. Are we prepared for what this all means? Would a simple "please" and "thank you," coupled with the occassional "I stand corrected" save western civilization from it's inevitable unraveling? If you answered STFU then I should have legal license to end your miserable existence in the most efficient manner available. That sounds fair to me. Would you concur, my friend?
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Son One
I am a recent first time father. It appears that nothing will ever be the same. Gone are the days when things just don't matter. I can no longer ignore something such as a pain in my arm that certainly will just go away. What if it doesn't? Life, no matter how routine and predictable it has become, suddenly has meaning. I must survive for the sake of my son.
Gay Haters
If you don't agree with gay marriage then don't marry a gay person. This is just one more of the infinite examples of far-right wing conservatives wanting to dictate how others must live and to tell us what we can and cannot do, all the while claiming to be all about "freedom." Now how does two same sexed people getting "married" affect your life? How does it deprive you of your life or liberty or property or even inconvenience you in any way? It doesn't. All it does is expose your bigotry.
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