". . . Don't Pull on Superman's Cape, Don't Piss into the Wind, and . . .

Don't mess around with Afghanistan!"
Afghanistan has been the graveyard of super powers for millennia. Do we really think that we can impose our will on the people that defeated Alexander the Great, Genghis Kahn, the British Empire, and the Soviet Union?

40,000 fatal car accidents per year is the price we pay for mobility. Terrorist attacks on our country just might be the price we have to pay for being an affluent, open society. There will always be those that don't like us. We can't start a war (or institute wire tapping and torture) every time someone assaults our way of life.

If Osama bin Laden were hiding in France, would we bomb France?

Who Needs GM? We've Got Blackwater

Every day we are sending more civilian mercenaries to run the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Are we becoming a warrior nation, a 21st Century Sparta?
Facing recession and 10% unemployment, the Military-Industrial Complex is the only part of the American economy that's growing.

How can we believe that Obama really wants to end these stupid, useless wars when he continues making them profitable for American interests?

The American Way of Death

Been thinking about those unmanned drones we use in the Middle East. Man, that's some scary, science-fiction kind of shit.
I can see a good side: Less risk to our soldiers, more selective targeting (killing individuals without so much "collateral damage.")
On the other hand: Those things don't have consciences. They will obey orders that would be morally objectionable to a soldier. Also, the promise of no human casualties might make us more apt to start wars.
What's creepy is: Many of the drones are directed by technicians here in the U.S. The main control center is in Colorado.
I can picture a man kissing his wife good-bye in the morning, leaving his comfortable suburban home and driving to an office cubicle where he will push a button that kills someone halfway around the world.
That's got to give you the creeps!

Bail-Out Blues

I can't help noticing that the government bail-outs of the big financial institutions, meant to save the mostly white-collar community, were almost unconditional. Washington threw a bunch of money at some fat cats and walked away.
The auto company bail-outs, which will mostly aid blue-collar workers, are filled with rules, reservations, timetables, etc.

A scary observation: Many of the institutions recently bailed out by the government actually survived the Great Depression.

Why?

Global warming skeptics:

1.) Generally, people have a motive for their actions. What would be the motive for scientists around the world (with diverse political, religious, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds) forming a conspiracy to mislead the rest of us?

2.) Why are all those polar bears drowning?

3.) Why are all those coastal villages up here being swamped by rising water? (No one gives a shit about some Eskimos. When New York and Miami are drowning, it will be a different story.)

And most importantly:
4.) Why are my 5 acres of woodland near Fairbanks TURNING INTO A FUCKING LAKE?

Thanks, Cliff

Who says there's no wisdom on TV?
I've been reminded recently of the Cliff Claven (the mailman on "Cheers") theory of intelligence.
Basically, Cliff compares the effects of alcohol on the brain with predators culling the weak members from a buffalo herd. As we all know, the general health of the herd is improved by the killing of the slowest, weakest animals. This is nature's way. Similarly, alcohol destroys the slowest, weakest brain cells first--leaving a brain that is overall stronger and more efficient.
This is why you always become so smart after a few beers.

And The Winner Is . . .

It's been quite a weekend. I thought that the epitome of hypocrisy had been reached when master hate-monger, Rush Limbaugh, accused Obama's Supreme Court nominee of racism.
But then some good Christian killed a doctor to support the "right to life." That's going to be hard to beat.