New recipe: 2 quarts of sports, a teaspoon of politics, a couple table spoons of entertainment news, a few pints of beer...Stir gently before drinking.
All comments (even the ones I poke fun at) are welcome!
His name was Nathan B. Brukenthal and he was the first Coast Guardsman killed in combat since the Vietnam war. He's been dead almost 4 years now but I bring it up not just as an 8 year veteran of the U. S. Coast Guard, but to remind you all that this Wednesday is the 5 year anniverary(?) of the opening of this debacle.
It began with Operation Iraqi Freedom and continues today with some other not so catchy slogan. Total U. S. Military body count is currently at 3,990.
3,851 have died since the "Mission Accomplished" visit. 3,259 since Saddam Hussein was captured. Last October a team of American and Iraqi epidemiologists estimated that 655,000 people had been killed since the invasion.
As the peace symbol turns 50 this year I'd like to remind everyone what JFK said, "Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind... War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today"
Are you still outraged? Or have you forgotten the fallen?
It has not typically been my pattern to place the video in front of my rant but this time is different. A very close friend of mine sent this to me a few weeks ago and he and I have been discussing it ever since. It was sent to him by the folks at http://www.theladders.com/. They are a bit of a Monster Dot Com on Roids for lack of a better way to put it as they tend to cater to some of the more higher paying jobs.
Throughout our discussions the main theme from my friend had been that I have missed the point of the video. This criticism comes from my overly sarcastic and cynical response that "yeah yeah this guy was on ESPN last year and what they are neglecting to say in this story is that the team was up by 30 points with 4 minutes left." Hence the 'Chad you're missing the point comment'.
In a way he's correct. While I'm not sure that this vid was the best way to convey the message - it is a bit misleading - the verbiage that theladders folks sent with it was worth revisiting. It's the idea that we tend to attach labels to things unfairly. Worse is that we accept the labels that are assigned to us without question.
By WE whom am I referring to? Who exactly is WE?
WE are white, black, asian, hispanic, indian (both dot and feather), gay, straight, bisexual, male, female, tall, short, skinny, fat, BBW, SWM, SBM, SWF, SBF, or any other acronym that may come to mind.
Unfortunately for the rest of the world these labels are not our defining characteristics. While it may serve as a way for you to help identify with us we are more than this. WE are your lawyers, your accountants, your mail carriers, your waiters and waitresses, your teachers, politicians, and your gas station attendants. WE are the everyday people that make up this planet and so are YOU.
It is quite possible that this was the point that my friend wanted me to grasp. If so I hope he realizes that it wasn't totally lost upon me. More importantly I hope it isn't lost upon you. It is really easy to define someone and pigeon hole them into a safe comfortable category. But by doing so you run the risk of missing out on what makes them special as an individual.
I think that was the point my buddy wanted to convey.
Either that or he wanted to re-emphasize that CBS does a really crappy job of telling a news story. YOU decide.
Oh yeah...and before I forget please sing along with me "In 1787 I'm told our founding fathers all sat down and wrote a list of principles that's known the world around"
Each week a buddy of mine sends out a mass email that he entitles the "Clip of the week" He his a lot more diligent about it than I am by far. Sometimes there are some misses and sometimes there are some serious "you've sunk my battleships". This clip is definitely the latter. The Aussies have this interview thing down cold.
The story is too incredulous for me to add anything to it, funny or otherwise. So here's the opening of the story and if you want more you can click the link that follows. Sigh...
Woman had phobia of leaving bathroom She sat on toilet so long her body became stuck to the seat The Associated Press updated 3:26 p.m. PT, Thurs., March. 13, 2008 WICHITA, Kan. - A man should be charged for allowing his girlfriend to sit on their toilet so long that her body became stuck to the seat, the sheriff said Thursday.
Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple was among authorities who discovered the woman last month living in the bathroom of a mobile home she shared with her boyfriend, Kory McFarren.
“The house was cluttered but not in shambles,” he said. “The smell was overpowering — a terrible smell about the house, obviously coming from where she was at.”
McFarren, 36, told police his girlfriend, Pam Babcock, 35, had a phobia about leaving the bathroom and may not have left the bathroom in two years, although he’s unsure how long she was in there because “time just went by so quick I can’t pinpoint how long.” He said beatings she received in her childhood caused her phobia.
So now that I'm old (and in my mind going to bed by 9 o'clock 6 nights out of 7 qualifies) I don't get to see a lot of late night TV. Unless of course I use the miracle that is DVR. But let's face it folks...if you start recording the late night TV shows shouldn't you just do us all a favor and give up right now?
I digress.
I wanted to talk about how absolutely hill-effing-larious Stephen Colbert is. You know him. He's the guy not named Steve Carell that left The Daily Show. You know. The guy that ran for President that one time. Oh well, the best way to appreciate Colbert's humor is to show you The Word.
Over the last two weeks a lot has been said about whether or not Senator Obama is plagiarizing bits of his very popular speeches. His answer has been that he has indeed borrowed (with permission) certain passages from a friend of his. Now while I don't see much wrong with this it made the news enough to be of some import to someone. But if you don't believe that plagiarism is something that occurs all throughout a political campaign you are horribly wrong.
Last week Hillary released what has to be her most successful campaign ad yet. I say this because it seems to have swayed a lot of voters both in Ohio and Texas. At least enough for her to continue her battle for the White House. I know that a lot of you have seen it already but it's short so I give it to you again.
It's a good ad. It doesn't come right out and say it but the inference is obvious. It clearly says that you want me (Hillary) picking up the phone at 3 am and not my opponent. But here's the problem. The ad looked a little too familiar to me. Now there is absolutely no sane reason for me to remember this but I've been interested in politics for so long that I can't help it. Back in March of 1984 Walter Mondale was running in the Democratic Primary against Gary Hart (who by the way, later lost to Bill Clinton in 1991). Mondale went on to win the Democratic Nomination but lose to the incumbent president at the time Ronald Reagan.
So just to be clear with the facts here I'll restate them again. The month was March. The contest was once again the Democratic Party Primary. And oh by the way the man currently supervising Hillary's ad strategy is a guy by the name of Roy Spence. Roy Spence was also the brain child for a similar ad in 1984 when he worked for...drum roll please...Walter Mondale. Here's Mondale's ad.
I'll let you be the judge but it seems to me that you really shouldn't accuse someone of plagiary when you're doing it yourself.
I have survived 3 days of being overly nice for the sheer purpose of being overly nice. Only 4 days left to go. This shit ain't easy people. Do you realize how hard it is to find something to blog about without berating someone for their stupidity?
Alas, the struggle continues.
For you Daily Show fans here's another chance to catch one of the funniest non-interviews ever. For those of you that don't watch The Daily Show I'll wait until day eight before I tell you what a loser you are.
Ladies and Gentlemen I give you Brian Williams and Jon Stewart - and laughter ensues...
