Happy Death Day

   Hard to believe that it was a year ago that I turned on my TV and listened to one of our anchors say that Osama Bin Laden had been killed.  And while I was initially skeptical, I now have accepted that it most likely did go down the way that they said it did.  The story behind it is just too detailed, there are too many witnesses, and it is just too widely accepted for me to continue to believe that they either killed him before hand and used this as a political booster, or that they didn't get him at all.  I love a good conspiracy as much as the next guy, but this one just doesn't play out.
   So it was done, but now's when the real problems start to come out.  My first big beef with this whole thing is all the attention this SEAL team is getting.  They are amazing soldiers.  We get it.  They get it.  They don't need a bunch of congressional medals, they don't need to make appearances or get big write-ups.  In fact I'd be willing to bet that most of them would rather just get out of the limelight and get back to work saving our asses every single day.  I am completely behind supporting our soldiers.  They deserve our utmost respect and should be honored in every way possible.  But when that takes them away from their sworn duty, or even worse exposes them and their families to possible threats, then I think we have crossed the line.
   It's also silly to me that President Obama is now trying to use this as a platform for why he should be re-elected.  To Obama's credit, he was smart enough to get out of the way and let the military and intelligence officers do their jobs.  He also played it cool when he was confronted with big news and did an admirable job of keeping everything under wraps for a good amount of time.  But to sit here and essentially take credit for the killing of Osama Bin Laden is a complete farce.  The media is going to do it of course, partly because they love Obama, partly because in their efforts to dumb everything down they will not get into the intricacies of how this stuff really happens.  But I do find it kind of embarrassing and selfish, really, for the President to suggest that if it hadn't been for him, we wouldn't have taken this shot.  Any president with any kind of common sense would have done the same thing, and while I would much rather have this decision be in the hands of Obama than, say Bush 2, I still don't think it's fair to take the credit.
   That's especially true considering the much more dire problems our country is now facing.  You gave the okay to kill Osama Bin Laden a year ago.  That's great.  How about the economy?  Jobs?  The national debt?  Universal Healthcare?  Social Security?  These are all pressing matters that Obama has yet to prove he can control or improve.  Trying to distract by reminding everyone that he was the president when Bin Laden was killed... well it might work for a little while, but I sure wouldn't count on it carrying your election.  Romney and his buddies will have a field day with that one.  Obama had better figure out a more solid platform than that one to stand on, or he's going to have serious problems convincing moderates that he should be re-elected.
   The bottom line and the big question here: is the world a safer place without Bin Laden?  Absolutely.  But he has paid for his crimes against humanity with his own life.  Now I think it's up to us to try to understand why he thought it would be a good idea to end this many human lives.  There have been many new documents released that were found at his compound.  I haven't read them yet, but they could be a very interesting look into the reasoning behind this operation.  Bin Laden was an asshole, but he wasn't crazy.  He was a very intelligent man, and while I don't think there is any way you can justify his actions, the reason behind those actions is something that may help us all to find a way to peace.
   Like it or not, there are a lot of politics going on behind the scenes with this whole Al Qaeda thing.  They go back many, many years... like back to when we actually supported Afghanistan in fighting off the Soviet Union.  Maybe even before then.  There is so much going on behind the scenes that none of us know about, and presidents, presidential candidates, leaders in general will try to distract you from that by making broad propagandist statements like "Bin Laden was a dick!" and then waiting for your applause.  We as Americans feel like it's our duty to applaud statements like that... and maybe it is.  But in the meantime these politicians are making a fool out of you, because they aren't answering your question and they are proving that you can be convinced and manipulated like cattle.  Stop doing that.
   The only person who I have heard something other than this from is my good pal Mr. Ron Paul.  He is the only candidate who stood up there in the debates, in front of everyone, and said it's not enough to simply sit here shout propaganda that will incite more war.  It's time for us to understand why we're fighting, and what can be done to actually stop it.  Has it ever occurred to any of you that throwing more guns and weapons at these people will just make them hate us more?  Has it ever occurred to you that maybe if we stop for one second and just consider the injustices that we may have put them through, then maybe (just maybe) we will be able to at least say "okay, we get it, and while we don't condone what you've done, we understand you want to be independent and not controlled by us or anyone?"  Again, like I said there is a lot going on behind the scenes that we don't know about.  Me included.  It's just something I'll throw out there, and maybe it'll help you cut Ron Paul a little slack next time he says something that isn't your typical barf about what a jerkoff Bin Laden was.  Alright enough about this.

Where Are Your Petitions Now?

   Remember SOPA and PIPA?  Those two disgusting privacy-violating bills that were shit out by congress a few months ago?  I remember.  I also remember how all the big companies in the world (like Google) banded together, shutting down parts of their sites, showing you just how bad things would get if these bills passed, and asking you to sign petitions and contact your congress people in order to stop the bills in their tracks.  It worked, and it was an excellent example of how democracy should work.  Unfortunately this illusion of all of us helping each other has quickly gone down the toilet.
   There is a new bill now, and sadly you may not have even heard of it.  I know I hadn't until Ceci brought it to my attention a few weeks ago.  It's CISPA, and the way I read it it contains a lot of the same implications as the former garbage that congress tried to make us swallow before.  So what's the difference with this one?  Why haven't the companies gotten all up in arms?  Why aren't they shutting down and begging you to fill out petitions and stop the government from such injustice?  Simple: it doesn't affect them.  It affects YOU.
   Funny how the companies will rally together and help one another (and ask for your help) when it's their asses on the line.  But now that they are protected and YOU are the one who is in the crosshairs, they are nowhere to be found.  Ladies and gentlemen, we have all just been made to look like asses.  Where's Google now?  The big friendly company who loves everyone could give two shits whether or not the stuff you post gets YOU in trouble... as long as THEY don't carry any responsibility.  It's sad, really.
   A wiser man than myself once said "With great power comes great responsibility."  Then Peter Griffin said "With great mustache comes great responsibility."  I'm not sure which statement is smarter, but I can tell you the first one makes more sense in this particular situation.  These companies need to be reminded that it is WE who made them powerful in the first place.  WE are the ones who made them all this money, who use their products, who would no longer use their products if suddenly the government came in and started arresting people.  Do they not see that they would eventually be affected by these laws too?  Do they not realize that without people to buy and use their products, they will be worthless?
   No, they probably don't.  They're way too short-sighted, and CERTAINLY too selfish to give two shits about what happens to you or me.  They only care about protecting themselves.  Sure that's capitalism, but it's not democracy.  This country used to operate with a conscience, and somewhere down the line that conscience went away.  It still looks like it's there, but look around you.  Look at the oil mega corporation that spends millions of dollars on beautiful ad campaigns that talk about how much they care about you and the environment, and then watch them rape you at the gas pump.  Look at Google's amazing, emotional commercials about how their products bring families together and stir you at your very core... and then watch them walk away when your use of their products gets you sent off to prison.  When did this happen?  How did this happen?  And how do we fix it?

Pitbullsh*t

   In case you missed it, Maryland passed a law that says pitbull owners can now be held liable if their dogs attack someone.  This has pitbull owners upset of course, and victims of pitbull attacks cheering.  And you might hate me for saying this, but I'm going to side with the victims on this one.
   First of all, let me just state that while I AM a dog person, I am not that kind of dog person.  If it were up to me the only big dogs on the planet would be retrievers, but that's because I grew up with retrievers and I have had some not so good experience with other breeds of dogs like rotweilers, dobermans, boxers, etc.  So someone please tell me, what is the appeal for these breeds of dogs?  Why do you like them so much that you will defend them to this level?  And don't tell me it's "because they look tough..." you will only be proving my point.  Seriously, I want to know.
   Regardless, I don't understand how anyone can be upset for being held responsible for what their dog does.  I have a little dachshund, and sometimes he gets a little attitude about things (for some reason little kids really throw him off).  Nothing makes me feel more terrible than watching some little kid come running up wanting to pet the cute puppy, only to be met with hair standing up and barking going on. 
   But if Frankie were to ever break out of his collar and go and bite that kid, I would ABSOLUTELY expect to be held responsible.  And to me, that's what this law is really about.  Buy one of these dogs if you want.  If you raise it well and it grows up to be friendly and loving, then you have nothing to worry about.  But if that dogs hauls off and bites someone, you are going to pay the price.  That should be the rule anyway, for all breeds, not just pitbulls.
   Look I get that pitbulls have a raw deal.  I've met plenty who are very nice, like Wooley's dogs (which are mixes, but close enough).  Not all dogs are bad.  Some are.  Not all owners can be blamed for their dog's behavior, but if that owner is irresponsible enough to do nothing about a bad dog, and allow that dog to continue functioning that way, then that owner should be held responsible for his OWN actions of allowing that dog to act that way.  Wow that was an awful sentence.  I'm too lazy to go back though, I'm on a roll here.
   Maybe instead of making this law about pitbulls, they should have made it about ALL dog OWNERS.  Dogs are dogs.  They have instincts, they are animals after all.  Some of those instincts are natural, some are taught, some are allowed to grow (knowingly or unknowingly).  But at the end of the day, you as an owner are responsible for what that dog does.  You bought into that when you bought the dog.  And I'm starting to think the real problem here is that people don't want to be told they are responsible for something.  That's scary on a whole new level.


   Here's how bad a state our country is in:  I saw a fat guy the other day at Mission Burrito.  Fat guy at Mission Burrito is no surprise, that place is like a mecca for them.  But this guy was incredible.  He had a nice macbook pro setup at his table, and as he waddled over and sat down, his gut hit the table and knocked over his drink, spilling it everywhere, including all underneath his nice laptop.
   I watched in horror as the guy sat there for a second, trying to take in what happened.  After a good 10 seconds, he finally stood up, grabbed the cup, and looked at the spillage.  He froze, obviously in a quandary about what to do.  Then he did what somehow surprised me even though it shouldn't: he chugged the remainder of his drink.  Screw the expensive laptop.  Screw the papers you had sat down on the table.  This was soda we were talking about.  Precious, precious soda.  To spill that is a sin above all others.
   It gets worse.  The guy finished chugging what was left of his soda, and I figured "okay he's fat, I get that, but you gotta take care of that laptop dude."  Sure enough, he actually started to make his way TOWARDS THE DRINK FOUNTAIN, before actually realizing how ridiculous he was acting and actually using napkins to sop up the liquid that had no doubt now seeped into his laptop's innards.
   I'm sorry, but if you've reached a point where your next sip of Coca Cola is more important to you than a laptop that probably cost more than a thousand dollars, you have a problem.  I'm not surprised though.  I guess I should just be happy he caught himself before getting a refill.  This is the state we are in, folks.  AMERICA!