Fashion Police is a television show that critiques fashion--brutally, sometimes.
Recently, one of its stars, Giuliana Rancic, came under fire for comments about 18-year old Zendaya Coleman's hair.
The kid chose to wear a "dreadlock" hairstyle to the Oscars. Rancic said, "She has such a small frame that I think this hair really overwhelms her. I feel like, I dunno, like she smells like patchouli oil... or weed."
Okay...
Ever since then, anytime I go to MSN or Yahoo or any social website, I've seen Giuliana Rancic being vilified as an insensitive racist, a bigot, or the Grand Dragon of the Hollywood KKK and even though I don't care about the show, fashion, Giuliana Rancic, or Zendaya Coleman (whom I've never even heard of before), I going to call "bullshit" on all these accusations of racism.
The kid's hairstyle was a fashion just like her dress, her shoes, and her jewelry. For anyone to infer that her hair was natural because she happens to be bi-racial is absolutely ridiculous. Her hair was done by a hair stylist; her real hair is straighter than mine. And for the sake of edification, I did a little research on hair. That's right. Since I'm losing mine, I figured it couldn't hurt.
Caucasian, Asian, and Congoloid hair will ALL become "dreadlocks" given enough time and lack of attention. Dreadlocks (true dreadlocks) originated because of unwashed hair (it's now known as the neglect, organic, or freeform method).
I don't know why it bothering Black folks so much, but White folks and Asian folks can have dreadlocks, too--naturally.
And the comment about the "weed" was obviously a joke (albeit not a funny one) referring to the Rastafari's use of marijuana as a sacrament (and Rastas maintain dreadlocks as required by Leviticus 21:5). Again, Rastafari is not the sole property of the Congoloid race--you don't have to be Black to be a Rasta. Patchouli oil, strangely enough, was used predominantly by white hippies in the 60's and early 70's as a perfume so if you see something racist in that, you're really reaching.
What Giuliana Rancic did was bundle dreadlocks, hippies, and weed together into a wisecrack and hurt the feelings of an immature little kid who happens to be bi-racial. And the world went berserk.
But it's fashion, nothing more and nothing less. It damned sure wasn't racist and if we, as a society, continue to scream "racism" where there is none, then the word is going to lose any power it ever had and it'll degenerate into just another put-down that means nothing.
We need to save that word for when it's needed.
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Thursday, February 5, 2015
In Defense of American Sniper
I'm a liberal.
So maybe it's the 26 years I spent in uniform, but I feel compelled to defend not only the movie, "American Sniper," but the guy the movie is based on, US Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, the most effective sniper in United States military history.
I've had people tell me, "You're not really a liberal. You were an officer in the military, for God's sake!" One of my good friends, a girl I worked with for almost 20 years, used to tell me, "Don, you're a social liberal, but you're a fiscal conservative--we're all social liberals!" Maybe. Maybe...
But lately I've come to wonder.
I watched Bradley Cooper in "American Sniper" last week and it was one of the best "war" films I've ever seen. The topic was difficult for me--in fact, I had to come back and watch it again because I couldn't get through it in one viewing. But it was a great movie.
And as I said, it was a "war" movie--let's be clear about that.
When you're talking about war movies, you're talking "All Quiet On The Western Front," "Pork Chop Hill," "Apocalypse Now," "Platoon," Paths Of Glory," "Full Metal Jacket," "The Deer Hunter," "Zulu," and "American Sniper."
These aren't movies glorifying war--they're movies about war. Nobody in their right mind would glorify war.
I can't stand to hear someone who's never put on a uniform of the United States Armed Forces glorify war. I can't stand hearing their rah-rah-sis-boom-bah bullshit. They don't have a clue... they don't understand and they will never understand that no one hates war more than a warrior.
I want to thank those of you who have said you appreciate my service and the service of all the other men and women who've volunteered for a job in the Armed Forces of the United States. But we're not heroes, so don't call us heroes. The heroes have the Congressional Medal of Honor. The rest of us are just folks who were doing a job they loved because you paid us to do it.
It was a good job. I loved it. I should be thanking you for letting me do it.
But back to "American Sniper."
Two guys I admire for their contribution to American society came down on "American Sniper" for its "glorification of the sniper" and have semi-condemned this film because, to them, it was blanket approval of the war in Iraq and blanket approval of what they consider to be "murder."
As another good friend of mine is fond of saying, "Hate the game, not the player."
It's no secret that I'm not a fan of George W. Bush. Nor am I a fan of Dick Cheney. It is my opinion that they gave the Congress bogus intelligence in order to invade Iraq. And that's my opinion.
Regardless of the veracity of that intelligence, the Congress of the United States approved our invasion of Iraq. By proxy, we (that means all of us--the American people, through our elected representatives) approved the invasion.
Individual service members don't invade a country.
Holding a single service member who happened to be the best marksman in the country responsible for the Iraq war is ludicrous. Desecrating his achievements and his memory is blasphemous.
Did Chris Kyle lie in his autobiography? Yeah. He did. He went off the deep end after he returned home.
After he pulled four tours in Iraq, after post traumatic stress disorder got him. And despite that, he was helping others suffering from the same psychological condition. But nothing pertinent in the movie "American Sniper" concerned itself with Chris Kyle's personal life--it concerned itself with factual, authenticated documented service in Iraq. So I don't care if Chris Kyle claimed he could fly by wiggling his ears after he returned to the United States. In Iraq, he was "Legend."
If you want to live in a free country and you want that country to remain free, an Armed Force is a necessary evil. And in order to have a viable Armed Force, you need people in it who follow lawful orders during times of war. That's what Chris Kyle was doing. To vilify him as a "murdering psychopath" simply because he was good at his military assignment and skill is taking political correctness and liberalism to the most pathetic level.
Somewhere out there in the US Army, there's a "best personnel warrant officer," but nobody wants to see a movie about a pencil-pusher--it's not exciting and there's no action. Trust me on that one.
So if you want to condemn war, do it. I'm right there with you.
If you think "American Sniper" glorifies war, you either didn't see it or you're an idiot.
If you think Chris Kyle's service during his tours in Iraq make him a murderer, you're living in a fantasy land where armed conflicts don't exist. A country doesn't go to war with the goal of losing--it uses all assets at its disposal to win. Be thankful that your country can win one every couple of decades.
Hate the game, not the players.
So maybe it's the 26 years I spent in uniform, but I feel compelled to defend not only the movie, "American Sniper," but the guy the movie is based on, US Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, the most effective sniper in United States military history.
I've had people tell me, "You're not really a liberal. You were an officer in the military, for God's sake!" One of my good friends, a girl I worked with for almost 20 years, used to tell me, "Don, you're a social liberal, but you're a fiscal conservative--we're all social liberals!" Maybe. Maybe...
But lately I've come to wonder.
I watched Bradley Cooper in "American Sniper" last week and it was one of the best "war" films I've ever seen. The topic was difficult for me--in fact, I had to come back and watch it again because I couldn't get through it in one viewing. But it was a great movie.
And as I said, it was a "war" movie--let's be clear about that.
When you're talking about war movies, you're talking "All Quiet On The Western Front," "Pork Chop Hill," "Apocalypse Now," "Platoon," Paths Of Glory," "Full Metal Jacket," "The Deer Hunter," "Zulu," and "American Sniper."
These aren't movies glorifying war--they're movies about war. Nobody in their right mind would glorify war.
I can't stand to hear someone who's never put on a uniform of the United States Armed Forces glorify war. I can't stand hearing their rah-rah-sis-boom-bah bullshit. They don't have a clue... they don't understand and they will never understand that no one hates war more than a warrior.
I want to thank those of you who have said you appreciate my service and the service of all the other men and women who've volunteered for a job in the Armed Forces of the United States. But we're not heroes, so don't call us heroes. The heroes have the Congressional Medal of Honor. The rest of us are just folks who were doing a job they loved because you paid us to do it.
It was a good job. I loved it. I should be thanking you for letting me do it.
But back to "American Sniper."
Two guys I admire for their contribution to American society came down on "American Sniper" for its "glorification of the sniper" and have semi-condemned this film because, to them, it was blanket approval of the war in Iraq and blanket approval of what they consider to be "murder."
As another good friend of mine is fond of saying, "Hate the game, not the player."
It's no secret that I'm not a fan of George W. Bush. Nor am I a fan of Dick Cheney. It is my opinion that they gave the Congress bogus intelligence in order to invade Iraq. And that's my opinion.
Regardless of the veracity of that intelligence, the Congress of the United States approved our invasion of Iraq. By proxy, we (that means all of us--the American people, through our elected representatives) approved the invasion.
Individual service members don't invade a country.
Holding a single service member who happened to be the best marksman in the country responsible for the Iraq war is ludicrous. Desecrating his achievements and his memory is blasphemous.
Did Chris Kyle lie in his autobiography? Yeah. He did. He went off the deep end after he returned home.
After he pulled four tours in Iraq, after post traumatic stress disorder got him. And despite that, he was helping others suffering from the same psychological condition. But nothing pertinent in the movie "American Sniper" concerned itself with Chris Kyle's personal life--it concerned itself with factual, authenticated documented service in Iraq. So I don't care if Chris Kyle claimed he could fly by wiggling his ears after he returned to the United States. In Iraq, he was "Legend."
If you want to live in a free country and you want that country to remain free, an Armed Force is a necessary evil. And in order to have a viable Armed Force, you need people in it who follow lawful orders during times of war. That's what Chris Kyle was doing. To vilify him as a "murdering psychopath" simply because he was good at his military assignment and skill is taking political correctness and liberalism to the most pathetic level.
Somewhere out there in the US Army, there's a "best personnel warrant officer," but nobody wants to see a movie about a pencil-pusher--it's not exciting and there's no action. Trust me on that one.
So if you want to condemn war, do it. I'm right there with you.
If you think "American Sniper" glorifies war, you either didn't see it or you're an idiot.
If you think Chris Kyle's service during his tours in Iraq make him a murderer, you're living in a fantasy land where armed conflicts don't exist. A country doesn't go to war with the goal of losing--it uses all assets at its disposal to win. Be thankful that your country can win one every couple of decades.
Hate the game, not the players.
Friday, June 7, 2013
May 2013 Reading List
Killing Floor
Die Trying
Tripwire
Running Blind
Echo Burning
Without Fail
---All by Lee Child
I don't know... I saw the new Tom Cruise movie, "Jack Reacher" and it wasn't too bad, so I thought I'd check out the novel it was based on. Come to find out, it's based on book number 9 in a series of 17 or so. These are the first 6 and they're pretty good (albeit mindless) reads chock full of factual errors. I guess that's to be expected when a Brit writes a series of action novels about an ex-US Army officer, but you'd think he'd do a little research about the US Army before writing about it. This guy seems to think that Corporals do Majors' laundry for them, that Majors can be demoted to Captain and re-promoted to Major, and that officers sleep in a huge barracks in open bays with other officers. The plots are far-fetched and they should really just be short stories, but they're great when you don't want to think much.
New Complete Techniques
---Jacques Pépin
I love this guy. Love to watch him cook, love to see him interact with Julia Child, love to hear him talk. The explained techniques are all pretty cool--even if you already know how to do them--and the recipes are all very simple, straight-forward, and things I'm dying to try, but it'll have to be on a long weekend. If we were at a restaurant, Sim would eat most everything in the book, but she wouldn't eat it at home. Too good. She doesn't like to eat anything that tastes good at home because she thinks it will make her fat. As if.
Letter To A Christian Nation
---Sam Harris
Wow... Harris stated that his aim was "to demolish the intellectual and moral pretensions of Christianity in its most committed forms" and he certainly succeeded to my way of thinking. I don't know what to make of this guy yet, but there's no doubt he's brilliant, interesting, funny, and a great writer.
Heart Shaped Box
---Joe Hill
I'm certainly glad that I didn't find out Joe Hill is Stephen King's son until after I finished the book because I would have been comparing the two the entire time I was reading it. I can't say the kid's better at this sort of thing than his father, but he's certainly different. Some of the stories were only so-so and some were gripping. All in all, it was good bedtime reading.
God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything
---Christopher Hitchens
The biggest problem I have when reading Christopher Hitchens is that I know if he and I were debating whether the sky was blue or not, and I had the affirmative, he would win anyway because no one can argue with Hitchens. An absolutely brilliant writer; entertaining, thought-provoking, thorough, and highly literate. And while Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris are no chumps, this was the best book I've read on a subject I agree with whole-heartedly.
Odd Thomas
---Dean Koontz
It's my second reading, but Odd is the most enchanting character in contemporary literature...even though most people wouldn't consider Dean Koontz a writer of what you'd call "literature." How could you not like a character who works as a fry cook but wants to change tires for a living, sees ghosts and spirits (including Elvis) and whose girlfriend is named Stormy Llewelyn?
No Cure For Cancer
---Denis Leary
Fucking moron. I've read menus that were funnier than this guy.
Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life
---Steve Martin
A very interesting autobiography of comedian Steve Martin. Sometimes surprising, too. I thought he just "burst on the scene" and was an immediate success. Reading about how he worked his way up and through the ranks is fascinating, especially because faced with that, I would have quit a long time ago.
Fear and Loathing At Rolling Stone
---Hunter S. Thompson
I started picking this up and knocking off a chapter or two ever few days. It's an interesting insight into the workings behind the scene of Dr. Thompson and Jann Wenner, but nothing earth-shattering. If you're a huge fan of Thompson like I am, you'll enjoy it; if not, it's a waste of time. I still can't believe the goofy bastard killed himself, but I guess he thought it was time to go.
How To Win Friends And Influence People
---Dale Carnegie
Nah, I'm just shitting you.
Die Trying
Tripwire
Running Blind
Echo Burning
Without Fail
---All by Lee Child
I don't know... I saw the new Tom Cruise movie, "Jack Reacher" and it wasn't too bad, so I thought I'd check out the novel it was based on. Come to find out, it's based on book number 9 in a series of 17 or so. These are the first 6 and they're pretty good (albeit mindless) reads chock full of factual errors. I guess that's to be expected when a Brit writes a series of action novels about an ex-US Army officer, but you'd think he'd do a little research about the US Army before writing about it. This guy seems to think that Corporals do Majors' laundry for them, that Majors can be demoted to Captain and re-promoted to Major, and that officers sleep in a huge barracks in open bays with other officers. The plots are far-fetched and they should really just be short stories, but they're great when you don't want to think much.
New Complete Techniques
---Jacques Pépin
I love this guy. Love to watch him cook, love to see him interact with Julia Child, love to hear him talk. The explained techniques are all pretty cool--even if you already know how to do them--and the recipes are all very simple, straight-forward, and things I'm dying to try, but it'll have to be on a long weekend. If we were at a restaurant, Sim would eat most everything in the book, but she wouldn't eat it at home. Too good. She doesn't like to eat anything that tastes good at home because she thinks it will make her fat. As if.
Letter To A Christian Nation
---Sam Harris
Wow... Harris stated that his aim was "to demolish the intellectual and moral pretensions of Christianity in its most committed forms" and he certainly succeeded to my way of thinking. I don't know what to make of this guy yet, but there's no doubt he's brilliant, interesting, funny, and a great writer.
Heart Shaped Box
---Joe Hill
I'm certainly glad that I didn't find out Joe Hill is Stephen King's son until after I finished the book because I would have been comparing the two the entire time I was reading it. I can't say the kid's better at this sort of thing than his father, but he's certainly different. Some of the stories were only so-so and some were gripping. All in all, it was good bedtime reading.
God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything
---Christopher Hitchens
The biggest problem I have when reading Christopher Hitchens is that I know if he and I were debating whether the sky was blue or not, and I had the affirmative, he would win anyway because no one can argue with Hitchens. An absolutely brilliant writer; entertaining, thought-provoking, thorough, and highly literate. And while Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris are no chumps, this was the best book I've read on a subject I agree with whole-heartedly.
Odd Thomas
---Dean Koontz
It's my second reading, but Odd is the most enchanting character in contemporary literature...even though most people wouldn't consider Dean Koontz a writer of what you'd call "literature." How could you not like a character who works as a fry cook but wants to change tires for a living, sees ghosts and spirits (including Elvis) and whose girlfriend is named Stormy Llewelyn?
No Cure For Cancer
---Denis Leary
Fucking moron. I've read menus that were funnier than this guy.
Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life
---Steve Martin
A very interesting autobiography of comedian Steve Martin. Sometimes surprising, too. I thought he just "burst on the scene" and was an immediate success. Reading about how he worked his way up and through the ranks is fascinating, especially because faced with that, I would have quit a long time ago.
Fear and Loathing At Rolling Stone
---Hunter S. Thompson
I started picking this up and knocking off a chapter or two ever few days. It's an interesting insight into the workings behind the scene of Dr. Thompson and Jann Wenner, but nothing earth-shattering. If you're a huge fan of Thompson like I am, you'll enjoy it; if not, it's a waste of time. I still can't believe the goofy bastard killed himself, but I guess he thought it was time to go.
How To Win Friends And Influence People
---Dale Carnegie
Nah, I'm just shitting you.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Deal With the Devil
This is what I have in mind...
I think it would be appropriate and beneficial to the welfare of the country, if Democrats and Republicans can forge an agreement regarding the upcoming 2012 Presidential election.
If Mitt Romney wins, Democrats have to agree not to go berserk that a rich, white Mormon born in Michigan is the president. They further agree not to say they hope Romney fails like Rush Limbaugh did after Obama was elected. They must also take a vow not to oppose everything Romney does regardless of whether they're in favor of it or not.
If Obama wins, Republicans must let him do his job, fill presidential appointments (like naming the new postmaster of Irving, North Dakota without blocking it), and let bills pass in the Senate with a simple majority instead of filibustering every piece of legislation that comes before them. The also have to shut up about Obama being an anti-American socialist Muslim from Kenya.
I think it would be appropriate and beneficial to the welfare of the country, if Democrats and Republicans can forge an agreement regarding the upcoming 2012 Presidential election.
If Mitt Romney wins, Democrats have to agree not to go berserk that a rich, white Mormon born in Michigan is the president. They further agree not to say they hope Romney fails like Rush Limbaugh did after Obama was elected. They must also take a vow not to oppose everything Romney does regardless of whether they're in favor of it or not.
If Obama wins, Republicans must let him do his job, fill presidential appointments (like naming the new postmaster of Irving, North Dakota without blocking it), and let bills pass in the Senate with a simple majority instead of filibustering every piece of legislation that comes before them. The also have to shut up about Obama being an anti-American socialist Muslim from Kenya.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Blunt Talk About Abortion
BLUNT TALK ABOUT ABORTION
No sane person views abortion as just another birth control method.
No
sane person wants to go through an abortion.
Proponents
of pro-choice do not glorify abortion any more than proponents of pro-life glorify
genocide.
So
other than an adherence to fanatical, religious-based, self-righteous opinion,
why would any proponent of pro-life feel it necessary to dictate to another
human being what they can and cannot do with their own bodies? What business is
it of theirs? Who, specifically, gave them the right to tell other people how
to live? Who gave them the right to judge other people?
Well… Just ask them and they’ll tell you: it was gentle Jesus, meek and mild. He gave
them those rights. Him and his book…
Anthropomorphism
can only go so far. Sure, you can attribute human qualities to the character of
Jesus in the New Testament—scriptures claim He was both God and man; however,
the qualities and characteristics the rabid interventionists of the pro-life
crowd attribute to Jesus are no more biblically valid than is the Mars Rover.
Jesus never spoke a word about abortion nor did He ever speak a word about the
moment life begins or of the much-touted pro-life credo of the “sanctity of
life.”
Abortion
isn’t mentioned in the Bible because the ignorant desert-wandering tribes it
was written for had no conception of the female reproductive system and would
have no more idea of how to perform an abortion than a Neanderthal would have
of how to fly a Boeing 757.
And
nowhere in scripture is it written, “By the way, if we forgot to mention it,
just go ahead and make something up.”
Because
that’s exactly what they’re doing when they climb their pedestals of arrogance
and attempt to force everyone to abide by what they imagine to be “God’s will.”
They’re making it up. But they’re also sinning. They’re blaspheming. Oh, they
don’t realize it because in their narrow, concentrated hatred of anything
smacking of personal freedom, they believe they’re striking a blow for “decency,”
but what they’re actually doing is blaspheming.
You’d
go to hell for that.
You
see, they’re claiming to know the mind of God. They’re dictating to others on His
behalf. They’re taking the name of God in vain. That’s blasphemy, regardless of
the motives behind it and if abortion is a black and white issue without a
shade of gray, then so is blasphemy.
Pro-lifers
are obsessed with fetuses, but not so much with people. From the moment a
zygote is formed by the fertilization of an egg, pro-lifers are all about the fetus
and the sanctity of life. Once the fetus emerges and becomes a child, these
same pro-lifers lose interest quickly. Before it was a human, they were fixated
with protecting it; but the minute it sucks in its first breath, they’re
finished.
Neo-natal
care? You’re on your own, kid. Now that we can see you, you’re not that cute after all.
Tax
dollars for WIC? Nope. That’s socialism
and welfare. Women, infants, and children—you’re on your own.
Crack
baby? Piss off—your mother’s a whore.
Day
care? Head Start? Look…we’re like the airlines, okay? We got you here safely. That’s
all you get.
But come see us again when you’re 18
and can join the military. Then we’ll sing the Star Spangled Banner and beat
our chests about how wonderful our young men and women in uniform are, but
between the ages of birth to the age of 18, you can go fuck yourselves.
For
people who pride themselves on being compassionate, you don’t see a lot of it
in pro-lifers, at least not any genuine compassion. You do see a lot of hatred,
sanctimony, and pomposity, but no genuine compassion. You also see that sense
of moral superiority all phony Christians display along with their well-rehearsed
“camouflaged look of disdain.” It wouldn’t be Christian to openly show disdain,
so they work on acting as if they’re
trying so hard not to be judgmental…hiding
it just enough so you can still see
it, but you just know they’re
stifling it as best they can to save your miserable, heathen feelings. Watching
one of these performances is mesmerizing.
They
do not want anyone having an abortion for any reason.
And
again, no sane person would use abortion as a method of birth control. It’s too
expensive, it’s too time-consuming, and it’s too risky. It’s a medical
procedure. Using abortion as a method of birth control would be like being
catheterized because it’s more convenient than walking to the bathroom.
But
picture these scenarios:
A
couple who were overjoyed a few weeks ago when the home pregnancy test showed
positive rush to the hospital, the wife cramping and in obvious agony. An
ultrasound shows the fetus is implanted in one of her fallopian tubes—not in
her uterus where it should be. The wife is in very real danger. But rather than
terminate the pregnancy immediately, the doctor puts the wife in a room, dopes
her up, and lets her wait out the pain, watching for either the fetus’s heart
to stop beating or for the wife’s fallopian tube to rupture.
*A
girl arrives in the emergency room in lower abdominal agony and with heavy
bleeding. An intern determines that she is having a miscarriage. Instead of
treating her, the intern calls for a gynecologist who forces the young woman to
submit to an examination whether she wants one or not to determine whether the
miscarriage is a common, natural event or whether it’s a crime scene.
*During
divorce hearings, a man described as a “one-man-cult” who claimed all his
actions, which included taking two of his daughters as brides were “guided by
God” is arrested when his sobbing, battered, and bruised 13 and 15-year-old-daughters
testify that he raped them both while their mother was visiting a sick relative
three months prior to the trial hearing. Charges against the man include
incest, assault, forcible confinement, corrupting the morals of children, and
rape. Both girls are pregnant.
*An
attractive, 40ish, vehemently pro-life mother of three, whose husband works for
the city planning commission, is leaving the Bell Hill Baptist Church late one
evening after volunteering to assist the church secretary by stuffing envelopes
announcing the annual bake sale. As she reaches her car and fumbles for her
keys, a mentally disabled, syphilitic, homeless man appears out of nowhere, grabs
her around the throat, forces her to the ground, shoves a filthy rag into her
mouth, tears off her skirt, and violently rapes her.
*An
older couple, their two children grown, educated, and married with families of
their own, are making love one evening and the condom breaks. They hope for the
best, but the woman misses her next period. A positive pregnancy test results
in a follow-up gynecologist visit and the woman is pregnant. Subsequent tests
indicate the likelihood of the child having severe Down’s Syndrome is extremely
high.
What
did these people do wrong? What exactly is it that would bring the pro-life
cause screaming down on their heads demanding that they let nature take its
course? An ectopic pregnancy, a natural miscarriage in progress, incest, rape,
and an accidental, unwanted pregnancy…
And
the pro-lifers say, “Nope. Have the kid. We don’t care if you die or suffer. We
don’t care if it’s your own father’s child. We don’t care that you’ll remember
that rape each time you look at the baby. We don’t care if your condom broke
and you’re bringing a child you can’t afford or can’t care for into the
world. We just don’t care. We cared before
they were born. We cared so much before
they were born that we’d do anything to force you to have that kid. But we don’t
care now.”
Where
is the logic in this line of thought? Where is the logic in demanding that other people—not you, but
other people—do what you want them to
do because you believe God is
anti-abortion? Medical estimates are that 30% to 50% of the pregnancies in the
United States end in miscarriage. Among abortionists, God appears quite prolific.
The
entire right-to-life movement is a farce. A ploy. A smoke-and-mirrors parlor
trick. These people aren’t pro-life, they’re anti-woman. Even the women who are
pro-life are anti-woman. Their express purpose in championing this sick,
twisted, backward philosophy is to “keep women in their place.”
The
pro-life men in this country are scared to death by any woman who has the
audacity to believe she’s her own woman in control of her own destiny and her
own body. These men like the fact
that their Bible has put them in charge. Even the wimpiest little Casper
Milquetoast in the country can walk into church and hear God command, “I do not
permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent!”
and brother, do they ever love that.
Pro-life
women are also scared to death by any woman who has the audacity to believe she
controls her own body—and they also want women under the control of men. By
women, they mean other women. The ones who aren’t them.
The
bottom line, the ultimate bottom line of this entire debate, once it is
stripped of all the false trappings used to attempt to make it appear
legitimate, is this: If men could get pregnant, an abortion would be easier to
get than a pack of cigarettes.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Old Soldiers Never Die...I Hope
Back in November, I received my retirement packet from the US Army Resources Command. I had to fill it out, get it notarized, go to the bank and get a form for direct deposit, etc. The instructions told me to mail it back in the envelope provided and don't send it registered, certified, or anything else. If I wanted confirmation they received it, put a self-addressed stamped postcard inside and they send it back to me.
So I mailed it in January and I'm still waiting for the self-addressed stamped postcard and since January, I've been obsessing about whether they processed the packet or not.
Approximately six months before my 60th birthday, I'm supposed to receive orders placing me on the US Army Retired List and confirming that my retirement pay will start on my birthday. That's about six months away and I'm still waiting for that notification, too.
Anyway, to make a short story even shorter, today I found a resource on line for a local Retirement NCO right over on Sidco Drive at the National Guard Armory who's supposed to help out "Gray Area Retirees" which is what someone who's retired but has not yet reached age 60 is called. Gray area. Evidently they got a look at my hair.
I called the number and got a recording. Things sure have changed in the 16 years I've been gone. In my day, we wouldn't dream of having a call answered by voice mail. A person would answer it.
So I told the machine who I was and that I was the Chief of the Personnel Services Branch before the one they've got now, and here's my problem, and please give me a call.
And guess what I'm still waiting for?
So I mailed it in January and I'm still waiting for the self-addressed stamped postcard and since January, I've been obsessing about whether they processed the packet or not.
Approximately six months before my 60th birthday, I'm supposed to receive orders placing me on the US Army Retired List and confirming that my retirement pay will start on my birthday. That's about six months away and I'm still waiting for that notification, too.
Anyway, to make a short story even shorter, today I found a resource on line for a local Retirement NCO right over on Sidco Drive at the National Guard Armory who's supposed to help out "Gray Area Retirees" which is what someone who's retired but has not yet reached age 60 is called. Gray area. Evidently they got a look at my hair.
I called the number and got a recording. Things sure have changed in the 16 years I've been gone. In my day, we wouldn't dream of having a call answered by voice mail. A person would answer it.
So I told the machine who I was and that I was the Chief of the Personnel Services Branch before the one they've got now, and here's my problem, and please give me a call.
And guess what I'm still waiting for?
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Taking Care Of Your Body
Although you wouldn't guess it to look at me, I've been on a physical fitness and diet regimen since I was 18 years old and entered Basic Combat Training at Fort Polk, Louisiana. Well...except for a 6 month interlude that lasted from the day I retired from the military until the day I went to work again and discovered the shorts and cut-off sweatshirt I'd been wearing daily during that period wouldn't cut it in the business world.
In all those years, I learned almost every single thing you could ever want to know about diet, nutrtion, exercise, and the human body. Seriously. I don't mean to brag, but there are nutritionists, doctors, dieticians, and Olympic athletes out there who haven't read as much about physical fitness and health as I have. The first diet and fitness book I ever read was written by Charles Atlas and the last one I read was written by some wiggler who edits a magazine called Men's Health that's been running the same 132 articles over and over again with different titles since they started publishing.
The problem with having all this knowledge, you see, is getting it "out there." For most people, that means they feel compelled to write a book. But books are tedious. They're long. And they're usually full of little anecdotes nobody cares about except the writer's relatives.
No, I think the way to impart knowledge about anything is with a list.
So let's take this opportunity to examine some of our most compelling beliefs about physical fitness, diet, exercise, the human body, and its social role and function. (I borrowed that sentence from the skirts over at Good Housekeeping, so don't get anything on it because I've got to get it back to them for their February article on divorced lesbians who raise their sons as transvestites.)
1. The absolute worst thing in the world for you, worse than anything else, is commercial white bread.
2. The only thing worse than that is refined white sugar.
3. In fact, anything white, such as white rice, is bad for you and anything brown, such as brown rice, is good for you.
4. The only white thing that's good for you is white wine.
5. The only other white things that are good for you are fish and chicken which are much better for you than beef which is bad for you unless it's veal which is sort of good for you unless it's deep fried.
6. Fish is so good for you that it's almost a vegetable except that it has intenstines.
7. Exercise is good for you and the more vigorous and frequent the exercise, the better it is for you. But you shouldn't exercise too much because exercise really wears you down.
8. Cancer is the result of having a certain personality type that represses emotions and things.
9. Only real straight Republican conservative "business-types" repress emotions. And your mother.
10. All other diseases we get are caused by the foods we eat.
11. All other diseases we get are caused by the environment we live in.
12. American eating habits are very unhealthy and Americans are very unhealthy even though statistics say we live longer than almost everybody else in the world.
13. You can lose weight and get in real good shape by eating 1,000 calories a day and exercising like a madman and within 6 months of stopping that, you'll be out of shape and fat again.
14. All folk medicine works really well, especially Chinese folk medicine.
15. Doctors don't know anything about medicine.
16. It's more natural for a baby to be born on a geodesic houseboat in Bali than a hospital in Nashville.
17. Karate, Judo, and Tae Kwan Do are good, but fighting is bad.
18. Women have more endurance than men.
19. Shaving under your arms is barbaric, but putting half a dozen holes in each ear and one in your belly button is good.
In all those years, I learned almost every single thing you could ever want to know about diet, nutrtion, exercise, and the human body. Seriously. I don't mean to brag, but there are nutritionists, doctors, dieticians, and Olympic athletes out there who haven't read as much about physical fitness and health as I have. The first diet and fitness book I ever read was written by Charles Atlas and the last one I read was written by some wiggler who edits a magazine called Men's Health that's been running the same 132 articles over and over again with different titles since they started publishing.
The problem with having all this knowledge, you see, is getting it "out there." For most people, that means they feel compelled to write a book. But books are tedious. They're long. And they're usually full of little anecdotes nobody cares about except the writer's relatives.
No, I think the way to impart knowledge about anything is with a list.
So let's take this opportunity to examine some of our most compelling beliefs about physical fitness, diet, exercise, the human body, and its social role and function. (I borrowed that sentence from the skirts over at Good Housekeeping, so don't get anything on it because I've got to get it back to them for their February article on divorced lesbians who raise their sons as transvestites.)
1. The absolute worst thing in the world for you, worse than anything else, is commercial white bread.
2. The only thing worse than that is refined white sugar.
3. In fact, anything white, such as white rice, is bad for you and anything brown, such as brown rice, is good for you.
4. The only white thing that's good for you is white wine.
5. The only other white things that are good for you are fish and chicken which are much better for you than beef which is bad for you unless it's veal which is sort of good for you unless it's deep fried.
6. Fish is so good for you that it's almost a vegetable except that it has intenstines.
7. Exercise is good for you and the more vigorous and frequent the exercise, the better it is for you. But you shouldn't exercise too much because exercise really wears you down.
8. Cancer is the result of having a certain personality type that represses emotions and things.
9. Only real straight Republican conservative "business-types" repress emotions. And your mother.
10. All other diseases we get are caused by the foods we eat.
11. All other diseases we get are caused by the environment we live in.
12. American eating habits are very unhealthy and Americans are very unhealthy even though statistics say we live longer than almost everybody else in the world.
13. You can lose weight and get in real good shape by eating 1,000 calories a day and exercising like a madman and within 6 months of stopping that, you'll be out of shape and fat again.
14. All folk medicine works really well, especially Chinese folk medicine.
15. Doctors don't know anything about medicine.
16. It's more natural for a baby to be born on a geodesic houseboat in Bali than a hospital in Nashville.
17. Karate, Judo, and Tae Kwan Do are good, but fighting is bad.
18. Women have more endurance than men.
19. Shaving under your arms is barbaric, but putting half a dozen holes in each ear and one in your belly button is good.
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