"Guam official: 60% of Marines will rotate."
I wonder if the rotating Marines will keep the island from capsizing?
And what if they rotate the wrong way? Widdershins instead of deosil? (clockwise vs. counter-clockwise, for you fans of modern parlance) Will the island capsize even faster if the Marines rotate in the wrong direction, sort of like righty-tighty, lefty-loosy?
Monday, April 30, 2012
Well, That's Revealing
CBS News requested documents from the Department of Justice regarding "Project Gunrunner, the umbrella program for Fast and Furious," via Freedom of Information Act request.
Here is what they got from the Obama Justice Department. Scroll down for full enlightenment.
Here is what they got from the Obama Justice Department. Scroll down for full enlightenment.
If They Ain't Dead It Don't Count
The US military in Afghanistan is under-reporting attacks by Afghan allies against NATO forces.
The U.S.-led coalition routinely reports each time an American or foreign solider is killed by an Afghan in uniform. But The Associated Press has learned it does not report insider attacks in which the Afghan wounds — or misses — his U.S. or allied target. It also doesn’t report the wounding of troops who were attacked alongside those who were killed.
Which, given the reputation that Afghans have for poor marksmanship, might mean a hell of a lot of attacks are going unreported.
The U.S.-led coalition routinely reports each time an American or foreign solider is killed by an Afghan in uniform. But The Associated Press has learned it does not report insider attacks in which the Afghan wounds — or misses — his U.S. or allied target. It also doesn’t report the wounding of troops who were attacked alongside those who were killed.
Which, given the reputation that Afghans have for poor marksmanship, might mean a hell of a lot of attacks are going unreported.
This Year's Drum Circle
Manbque.
CHICAGO – The men head straight for the Wicker Park backyard carrying beer and prized cuts of raw meat.
There, in the charcoal haze of three grills crackling on a 40-degree night, they find dozens of other men just like them – wearing hooded sweatshirts, often speaking with their mouths full and not worrying about what their girlfriends or wives might say.
And there are rules, for crying out loud:
RULE: Manbque should only be held during the week. Weekends are for Coed B Ques where there is a slight chance of actually going home with a woman.
RULE: Any vegetables served at Manbque must be within the tight parameters of meat in the form of a kabob.
What you really have here is another case of beta males trying to ape alpha-male behavior.
CHICAGO – The men head straight for the Wicker Park backyard carrying beer and prized cuts of raw meat.
There, in the charcoal haze of three grills crackling on a 40-degree night, they find dozens of other men just like them – wearing hooded sweatshirts, often speaking with their mouths full and not worrying about what their girlfriends or wives might say.
And there are rules, for crying out loud:
RULE: Manbque should only be held during the week. Weekends are for Coed B Ques where there is a slight chance of actually going home with a woman.
RULE: Any vegetables served at Manbque must be within the tight parameters of meat in the form of a kabob.
What you really have here is another case of beta males trying to ape alpha-male behavior.
We Needs Us Some Black SEALs
The US Navy, embarrassed that there are so few African-Americans in the SEAL program, want to increase outreach to remedy the situation.
Whites make up 85% of SEAL team members, while the number for whites in the rest of the Navy is 64%, so you see the issue that is embarrassing the Navy.
So they're desperately reaching out to try and fix things so more blacks become SEALs.
A couple of things stand in the way, however:
Don’t expect to see quotas, however.
“We have no numeric goal for diversity. This is not a quota-based operation,” Smith said. “This is really just wanting to make progress and to better prepare our force to conduct overseas operations.”
And the command won’t ease its tough standards to become a SEAL or SWCC. “We are trying to become more diverse, but our standards have never been compromised,” he said, “and will not be compromised.”
Oops. Well, so much for your diversity if you aren't willing to institute quotas and dumb down the standards.
Whites make up 85% of SEAL team members, while the number for whites in the rest of the Navy is 64%, so you see the issue that is embarrassing the Navy.
So they're desperately reaching out to try and fix things so more blacks become SEALs.
A couple of things stand in the way, however:
Don’t expect to see quotas, however.
“We have no numeric goal for diversity. This is not a quota-based operation,” Smith said. “This is really just wanting to make progress and to better prepare our force to conduct overseas operations.”
And the command won’t ease its tough standards to become a SEAL or SWCC. “We are trying to become more diverse, but our standards have never been compromised,” he said, “and will not be compromised.”
Oops. Well, so much for your diversity if you aren't willing to institute quotas and dumb down the standards.
Comment In Passing, Devil's Advocate Edition
Those of you who oppose abortion and would like to see Roe V. Wade overturned by the Supreme Court would do well to remember that this would make it perfectly acceptable for liberals to advocate for similar Supreme Court overturn on the Heller and McDonald gun rights cases.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Kabong!
In the music capital of Austin, Texas, a man has been beaten to death with a guitar.
I hope y'all will forgive me for being less concerned with the shedding of blood than curious about what type of guitar was used in the attack?
I hope y'all will forgive me for being less concerned with the shedding of blood than curious about what type of guitar was used in the attack?
Will President Obama's Daughters...
...one day look like these two?
Police are seeking two men in the attempted armed robbery of a hotel and bowling alley on Savannah Highway, apparently while dressed as women.
According to police, a black man 20 to 25 years old entered the Triangle Lanes Bowling Alley about 11:20 p.m. Friday, approached the main cashier and demanded money. The cashier became nervous and turned away, and the man left the business without getting any money.
About 11:25 p.m., two black men, each about 20 to 25 years old, entered the front lobby of the Holiday Inn Express just north of the bowling alley. One of them pointed a handgun at the desk clerk and demanded money. The desk clerk fled to a back room, and the men fled the hotel without getting any money. No one was injured in either incident.
In both incidents, the men appeared to be dressed as women, wearing wigs and padded shirts.
Police are seeking two men in the attempted armed robbery of a hotel and bowling alley on Savannah Highway, apparently while dressed as women.
According to police, a black man 20 to 25 years old entered the Triangle Lanes Bowling Alley about 11:20 p.m. Friday, approached the main cashier and demanded money. The cashier became nervous and turned away, and the man left the business without getting any money.
About 11:25 p.m., two black men, each about 20 to 25 years old, entered the front lobby of the Holiday Inn Express just north of the bowling alley. One of them pointed a handgun at the desk clerk and demanded money. The desk clerk fled to a back room, and the men fled the hotel without getting any money. No one was injured in either incident.
In both incidents, the men appeared to be dressed as women, wearing wigs and padded shirts.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Torpedoes and Flytraps
Stanly Rehder, a WWII Army veteran who's now in an assisted living home, has seen both in his life.
Folks may not know, though, that on Christmas Eve, 1944, Rehder helped save the lives of eight fellow GIs when a troop ship sank in the English Channel.
Rehder was 22, a graduate of New Hanover High School and a lieutenant with the 66th Division U.S. Army, when he boarded the Leopoldville, a Belgian liner converted to a troopship for World War II. He was napping as it made its way from Southampton, England, to Cherbourg, France, carrying more than 2,000 soldiers to join the Battle of the Bulge.
According to “Leopoldville: A Tragedy Too Long Secret” by Allan Andrade, the ship was only five miles from Cherbourg when it was struck by a torpedo fired by German U-boat 486.
In 1988, Rehder wrote an account of that night, titled “The Night Before Christmas.”
Click the link to read the rest.
Related gallery here.
Folks may not know, though, that on Christmas Eve, 1944, Rehder helped save the lives of eight fellow GIs when a troop ship sank in the English Channel.
Rehder was 22, a graduate of New Hanover High School and a lieutenant with the 66th Division U.S. Army, when he boarded the Leopoldville, a Belgian liner converted to a troopship for World War II. He was napping as it made its way from Southampton, England, to Cherbourg, France, carrying more than 2,000 soldiers to join the Battle of the Bulge.
According to “Leopoldville: A Tragedy Too Long Secret” by Allan Andrade, the ship was only five miles from Cherbourg when it was struck by a torpedo fired by German U-boat 486.
In 1988, Rehder wrote an account of that night, titled “The Night Before Christmas.”
Click the link to read the rest.
Related gallery here.
Good Thing She Wasn't a Surgeon...
...she might have castrated him.
A UK man is now toothless after visiting his dentist girlfriend for dental work after breaking up with her.
A UK man is now toothless after visiting his dentist girlfriend for dental work after breaking up with her.
Is That a Meth Lab In Your Pants...
...or are you just happy to see me?
A man who was making meth in his pants (no, I didn't lisp) had an unfortunate accident:
This was in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma. An Okie.
A man who was making meth in his pants (no, I didn't lisp) had an unfortunate accident:
This was in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma. An Okie.
Homeless But Not Gunless
In Raleigh Friday night, a homeless man shot a woman at an apartment complex.
Article doesn't go into much detail about motives for the shooting. I don't think you can buy a pistol without a permanent address, either, not legally, anyway. I don't see any results from a NC offender lookup, but the name used in the article may be an alias. Or hell, who knows, maybe he's a model citizen who only recently became homeless, and legally owned the gun he committed the crime with.
What? You don't believe that, either? So many cynical people in this world...
Article doesn't go into much detail about motives for the shooting. I don't think you can buy a pistol without a permanent address, either, not legally, anyway. I don't see any results from a NC offender lookup, but the name used in the article may be an alias. Or hell, who knows, maybe he's a model citizen who only recently became homeless, and legally owned the gun he committed the crime with.
What? You don't believe that, either? So many cynical people in this world...
Friday, April 27, 2012
Now Youze Can't Leave
Over in Goose Creek, SC, life imitates the movies...sort of.
His friend, 28-year-old Matthew Laberge, met an officer at the hospital’s entrance. Laberge told the officer that he watched other Two Keys customers gamble on billiards games at 6 a.m. Laberge said one of the patrons placed a bet, which the bar manager covered, and the customer then left without paying.
That’s why, according to Laberge, the unnamed manager “became irate and ordered the bouncers of the establishment to lock the doors” with about 20 people inside, the police report says.
Laberge told the officer that the manager and bouncers demanded that someone come up with the money. Laberge tried to reason with the manager that he never bet on the game, but a bouncer then asked the manager for “the green light,” the report says.
The bouncer then grabbed a pool stick and broke it over a pool table, Laberge told police. The bouncer took the thicker end of the stick and hit Drawdy in the back of the head, rendering him temporarily unconscious, according to the report.
Laberge told police he left $100 on a table and that the bar manager eventually unlocked the front door and told the patrons to get out and “not to (mess) with Two Keys.”
So, you CCW holders: how do you think you'd handle this situation?
And, as a bonus, here's the movie clip that inspired the blog post title:
Update:The bar employees have been fired and arrested.
His friend, 28-year-old Matthew Laberge, met an officer at the hospital’s entrance. Laberge told the officer that he watched other Two Keys customers gamble on billiards games at 6 a.m. Laberge said one of the patrons placed a bet, which the bar manager covered, and the customer then left without paying.
That’s why, according to Laberge, the unnamed manager “became irate and ordered the bouncers of the establishment to lock the doors” with about 20 people inside, the police report says.
Laberge told the officer that the manager and bouncers demanded that someone come up with the money. Laberge tried to reason with the manager that he never bet on the game, but a bouncer then asked the manager for “the green light,” the report says.
The bouncer then grabbed a pool stick and broke it over a pool table, Laberge told police. The bouncer took the thicker end of the stick and hit Drawdy in the back of the head, rendering him temporarily unconscious, according to the report.
Laberge told police he left $100 on a table and that the bar manager eventually unlocked the front door and told the patrons to get out and “not to (mess) with Two Keys.”
So, you CCW holders: how do you think you'd handle this situation?
And, as a bonus, here's the movie clip that inspired the blog post title:
Update:The bar employees have been fired and arrested.
Gun Owner Stops Knife Maniac At Grocery
Didn't even have to shoot him, just threw down on him and held him at gunpoint until police arrived.
Police say the suspect purchased a knife inside the store and then turned it into a weapon. Smith's employee Dorothy Espinoza says, "He pulled it out and stood outside the Smiths in the foyer. And just started stabbing people and yelling you killed my people. You killed my people."
Espinoza says, the knife wielding man seriously injured two people. "There is blood all over. One got stabbed in the stomach and got stabbed in the head and held his hands and got stabbed all over the arms."
Then, before the suspect could find another victim - a citizen with a gun stopped the madness. "A guy pulled gun on him and told him to drop his weapon or he would shoot him. So, he dropped his weapon and the people from Smith's grabbed him."
By the time officers arrived the suspect had been subdued by employees and shoppers. Police had high praise for gun carrying man who ended the hysteria. Lt. Brian Purvis said, "This was a volatile situation that could have gotten worse. We can only assume from what we saw it could have gotten worse. He was definitely in the right place at the right time."
Found on actor Adam Baldwin's Twitter feed.
Police say the suspect purchased a knife inside the store and then turned it into a weapon. Smith's employee Dorothy Espinoza says, "He pulled it out and stood outside the Smiths in the foyer. And just started stabbing people and yelling you killed my people. You killed my people."
Espinoza says, the knife wielding man seriously injured two people. "There is blood all over. One got stabbed in the stomach and got stabbed in the head and held his hands and got stabbed all over the arms."
Then, before the suspect could find another victim - a citizen with a gun stopped the madness. "A guy pulled gun on him and told him to drop his weapon or he would shoot him. So, he dropped his weapon and the people from Smith's grabbed him."
By the time officers arrived the suspect had been subdued by employees and shoppers. Police had high praise for gun carrying man who ended the hysteria. Lt. Brian Purvis said, "This was a volatile situation that could have gotten worse. We can only assume from what we saw it could have gotten worse. He was definitely in the right place at the right time."
Found on actor Adam Baldwin's Twitter feed.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Quote of the Day
And then they said the magic words (voiceover of a shot of flight attendants making up a first-class cabin, with beds etc): "Our goal is to bring back some of the luxury and glamour of air travel."
I'm afraid that ship has sailed, folks. Yes, you may be able to hit the luxury button for a select few in the first-class seats, but even those aren't THAT luxurious. As long as I'm taking off my shoes and belt and getting my nuts grabbed by a blue-gloved tin-badged pissant, you definitely aren't going to bring back glamour.
Found here.
I'm afraid that ship has sailed, folks. Yes, you may be able to hit the luxury button for a select few in the first-class seats, but even those aren't THAT luxurious. As long as I'm taking off my shoes and belt and getting my nuts grabbed by a blue-gloved tin-badged pissant, you definitely aren't going to bring back glamour.
Found here.
Just Call 'Em Grenadewalkers
Apparently walking guns into Mexico wasn't sufficient for the Obama ATF; they also walked grenade parts, as well.
In a shocking development in the Operation Fast and Furious investigation, documents show Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents allowed grenade parts to walk in addition to guns.
The emails also show Obama administration officials acknowledging that they may lose track of grenades but would still be able to accomplish their original objective even if the grenades explode.
According to an internal email that was provided to Congress by the Department of Justice and first reported by CBS News’ Sharyl Attkisson, ATF began watching accused smuggler Jean Baptiste Kingery’s AK-47 purchases in 2004. In the 2009 internal ATF email, Obama administration officials admitted they believed Kingery was “trafficking them into Mexico.”
The 2009 email shows the ATF officials had then become aware of Kingery’s alleged grenade trafficking.
Who know what else will be found when the tens of thousands of documents that Eric Holder's Justice Department has been withholding from Congress are finally turned over? We'll probably find out that they've been walking everything up to suitcase nukes to Mexico.
In a shocking development in the Operation Fast and Furious investigation, documents show Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents allowed grenade parts to walk in addition to guns.
The emails also show Obama administration officials acknowledging that they may lose track of grenades but would still be able to accomplish their original objective even if the grenades explode.
According to an internal email that was provided to Congress by the Department of Justice and first reported by CBS News’ Sharyl Attkisson, ATF began watching accused smuggler Jean Baptiste Kingery’s AK-47 purchases in 2004. In the 2009 internal ATF email, Obama administration officials admitted they believed Kingery was “trafficking them into Mexico.”
The 2009 email shows the ATF officials had then become aware of Kingery’s alleged grenade trafficking.
Who know what else will be found when the tens of thousands of documents that Eric Holder's Justice Department has been withholding from Congress are finally turned over? We'll probably find out that they've been walking everything up to suitcase nukes to Mexico.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
The Restored Cutty Sark
The last of the tea clippers has been restored after a fire nearly destroyed the famed ship, and the UK Daily Mail has its usual wonderful photos.
Sample:
That's the copper-sheathed hull of the ship, something you normally never see. The copper plating prevents teredos (shipworms) from boring into the wood and weakening it.
Sample:
That's the copper-sheathed hull of the ship, something you normally never see. The copper plating prevents teredos (shipworms) from boring into the wood and weakening it.
Quote of the Day
Just yesterday at work, the temp agency representative was looking up someone on Facebook. Evidently they had posted a comment about a boss. She didn’t find it…she wasn’t a friend. However, she was looking and it chilled my blood to witness it.
From The Dax Files by Dax Montana.
That's the crunch about our so-called right to "free speech." No one really gives a rat's ass if an employer uses blog posts, Facebook posts or Tweets against you, because it's not a government action. The result, however, is just as effective as if government did do it: you're hesitant to be honest and to speak your mind, knowing that someone will be offended and bring it to the attention of those who have power over you in the private sector.
From The Dax Files by Dax Montana.
That's the crunch about our so-called right to "free speech." No one really gives a rat's ass if an employer uses blog posts, Facebook posts or Tweets against you, because it's not a government action. The result, however, is just as effective as if government did do it: you're hesitant to be honest and to speak your mind, knowing that someone will be offended and bring it to the attention of those who have power over you in the private sector.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Musical Interlude
Mary Gauthier, Prayer Without Words. Listen to Ian McLagan (Faces) work out on the Hammond organ:
Idle Thought
I wonder how many bastard milksuckers will be named "Trayvon" in the next couple of years?
Update: and I wonder when "To Trayvon" will become a verb: If you don't back up and take your hands out of your pockets, I'm going to Trayvon your black ass.
Update: and I wonder when "To Trayvon" will become a verb: If you don't back up and take your hands out of your pockets, I'm going to Trayvon your black ass.
Why Didn't Y'all Tell Me...
...that Jonathan Frid died?
I was one of those kids who used to run home to watch Dark Shadows every day. The first episode I ever saw was the death of Rev. Trask, shown in the first couple of minutes of the following clip:
Needless to say this was probably more than a child as young as I was (around 5 or so) was prepared to watch, and the werewolf episodes gave me nightmares. What a great show it was, for its time.
I was one of those kids who used to run home to watch Dark Shadows every day. The first episode I ever saw was the death of Rev. Trask, shown in the first couple of minutes of the following clip:
Needless to say this was probably more than a child as young as I was (around 5 or so) was prepared to watch, and the werewolf episodes gave me nightmares. What a great show it was, for its time.
Regarding Dog-Eating...
...Lewis & Clark on their exploration of the Louisiana Territory ate dogs occasionally, but it wasn't a favorite, and Clark usually abstained from eating dog. Lewis was less fastidious.
Out of Curiosity...
...how many of you have ever eaten watermelon with salt on it? My father used to eat it that way.
Quote of the Day
"How many other pop-culture icons can be said to be ugly, one-eyed, tattooed, with multiple speech impediments and a vegetable fetish?"
The immortal comic strip sailor Popeye is back in a new series of comic books.
The immortal comic strip sailor Popeye is back in a new series of comic books.
Careful With That Axe, Stinky*
In a "Tent City" for homeless people down in my hometown of Gainesville, Florida, a man charged at a woman with an axe after she made a joke about his body odor.
According to a Gainesville Police Department arrest report, Ricky B. Griffis, 44, and the victim got into an argument after the woman made a joke about his body odor.
The woman was drying herself off when Griffis allegedly charged toward her with an ax.
Another resident at Tent City pulled out a machete to scare him off, the report stated. Both the victim and witness said Griffis had been in an “enraged mental state” for the past three days.
*Bonus points for identifying where I got the post title.
According to a Gainesville Police Department arrest report, Ricky B. Griffis, 44, and the victim got into an argument after the woman made a joke about his body odor.
The woman was drying herself off when Griffis allegedly charged toward her with an ax.
Another resident at Tent City pulled out a machete to scare him off, the report stated. Both the victim and witness said Griffis had been in an “enraged mental state” for the past three days.
*Bonus points for identifying where I got the post title.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
3000 Buried Buddhas
In China, as you might expect. For some reason the Chinese have this weird habit of creating works of art in large numbers, and then burying them in the ground.
Here's a pic of one of the Buddhas:
Here's a pic of one of the Buddhas:
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Not Feeling the Motivation
Not to blog, anyway. We (my sister and I, and dog and cat) are in the process of moving, and when you live from paycheck to paycheck with no savings that isn't a pleasant experience, not when you have to pack up about 17 year's worth of possessions. Too many of mine are books, and I need to winnow the library drastically, because most of them I am just not going to re-read, or even use for reference.
So...I'll blog when I'm in the mood. Don't know how often that will be.
So...I'll blog when I'm in the mood. Don't know how often that will be.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Levon Helm, 1941-2012: R.I.P.
Levon Helm has left us, a victim of the cancer that has afflicted him for over a decade.
Here's Levon singing with The Band:
Here's Levon toward the end, when the cancer gave him a bit of a break, and he got his voice back:
Be at peace, Levon.
Here's Levon singing with The Band:
Here's Levon toward the end, when the cancer gave him a bit of a break, and he got his voice back:
Be at peace, Levon.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Terrible News
Mike Vanderboegh of Sipsey Street Irregulars has MRSA.
MRSA is Methycillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus infection. It's one of the superbugs that can't easily be killed by antibiotics, and it's widespread in hospitals.
MRSA killed my mother last April by weakening her immune system to the point where she developed pneumonia. Vanderboegh, who was the blogger who exposed Barack Obama and Eric Holder Fast & Furious gun control plot, has MRSA, and will need all your prayers and support if he is to recover. He has a donation button over at Sipsey Street, if you choose to support with your dollars. If you wish to leave comments of support please leave them at David Codrea's blog, David appears to be acting as Vanderboegh's spokesman/agent.
Get well soonest, Mike.
MRSA is Methycillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus infection. It's one of the superbugs that can't easily be killed by antibiotics, and it's widespread in hospitals.
MRSA killed my mother last April by weakening her immune system to the point where she developed pneumonia. Vanderboegh, who was the blogger who exposed Barack Obama and Eric Holder Fast & Furious gun control plot, has MRSA, and will need all your prayers and support if he is to recover. He has a donation button over at Sipsey Street, if you choose to support with your dollars. If you wish to leave comments of support please leave them at David Codrea's blog, David appears to be acting as Vanderboegh's spokesman/agent.
Get well soonest, Mike.
The Freedom To Piss From Your Porch
Russ Vaughn, the new co-blogger over at This Ain't Hell, discusses the personal satisfaction to be had in enjoying the freedom of urinating from your own porch, if you so desire.
In this over-governed USA, though, how long before someone calls the health department on Russ, complaining that he's polluting the water table, or some such nonsense?
More about Russ here.
In this over-governed USA, though, how long before someone calls the health department on Russ, complaining that he's polluting the water table, or some such nonsense?
More about Russ here.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
The Saga of Ensign Hord
Lost at sea, anno domini 1908.
The story of how the portrait of a lowly ensign from the US Naval Academy ended up on a wall at the Pentagon.
The story of how the portrait of a lowly ensign from the US Naval Academy ended up on a wall at the Pentagon.
Treasure Blog: St. Cuthbert Gospel
The British Library has purchased the St. Cuthbert Gospel from the Jesuits for $14.3M.
The book, pocket-sized and hand-made, was buried with the hermit when died in 687 a.d., and was found when his coffin was opened in 1104 A.D. in preparation for moving the saint's relics away from danger of Vikings. Apparently it's the oldest book in Europe to survive intact.
Here's a pic of one of the pages:
Most people don't know anything at all about St. Cuthbert these days, but he was one of the most important religious figures in early English history. You can read more about him at Wikipedia.
Update: The Cuthbert Gospel, also known as the Stonyhurst Gospel, has its own page in Wikipedia, as well. The little book is simply magnificent, click the link to see the photos.
The book, pocket-sized and hand-made, was buried with the hermit when died in 687 a.d., and was found when his coffin was opened in 1104 A.D. in preparation for moving the saint's relics away from danger of Vikings. Apparently it's the oldest book in Europe to survive intact.
Here's a pic of one of the pages:
Most people don't know anything at all about St. Cuthbert these days, but he was one of the most important religious figures in early English history. You can read more about him at Wikipedia.
Update: The Cuthbert Gospel, also known as the Stonyhurst Gospel, has its own page in Wikipedia, as well. The little book is simply magnificent, click the link to see the photos.
Meanwhile, On Sotobanari Island...
...a Japanese man has been living as a hermit, naked, for 20 years.
Click the link to see video and the story. He spends much of the time in the video scratching himself like an ape would. And, lest you think he's self-sufficient, let me make it clear: he's supported by funds from his brother, which allows him to journey to buy groceries once a week. Still, I'm sure he appreciates the solitude and comparative autonomy.
h/t Robert Langham.
Click the link to see video and the story. He spends much of the time in the video scratching himself like an ape would. And, lest you think he's self-sufficient, let me make it clear: he's supported by funds from his brother, which allows him to journey to buy groceries once a week. Still, I'm sure he appreciates the solitude and comparative autonomy.
h/t Robert Langham.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Quote of the Day
I understand the Obama administration is trying to make the argument that foreign policy is a strength of theirs, using the killing of Osama bin Laden. But the way I would look at it is this: Osama bin Laden was killed while Obama was president–he wasn’t killed because Obama was president. - - Former UN Ambassador John Bolton.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Amazing Military Airplane Discovery
Over at Peter's is the story of an incredible discovery of WWII-era military airplanes: Spitfires, buried in their shipping crates in Burma ahead of the Japanese invasion.
Click the link to read the story. If the crates withstood the elements for all these years then this could be one of the great aviation discoveries of the new century.
Click the link to read the story. If the crates withstood the elements for all these years then this could be one of the great aviation discoveries of the new century.
It's Ruination Day
Most of you are aware that it's the centennial of the Titanic disaster. But other things happened on April 14th: Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, and the Dust Bowl started in Oklahoma.
I'll let Gillian Welch tell you about it:
I'll let Gillian Welch tell you about it:
Friday, April 13, 2012
Tommy Jordan Shoots Another Laptop
This one ain't his daughter's, but his own, and he's selling it on eBay for charity:
By Remarkable Coincidence...
...he closely resembles President Obama's son, if the President had a son, that is.
A robber in Northport, Florida, was arrested after uploading pics to Facebook of himself posing with his gun and ill-gotten gains. He robbed a Dollar General store. Imagine that.*
*private joke between my friend Sara and myself. When riding around NC, we'd pass a Dollar General store, I'd point and say, "Look, a Dollar General. Imagine that." You don't really see Dollar General stores in large cities, but there's plenty of them in rural areas. You're almost by definition in a rural area when you see one.
A robber in Northport, Florida, was arrested after uploading pics to Facebook of himself posing with his gun and ill-gotten gains. He robbed a Dollar General store. Imagine that.*
*private joke between my friend Sara and myself. When riding around NC, we'd pass a Dollar General store, I'd point and say, "Look, a Dollar General. Imagine that." You don't really see Dollar General stores in large cities, but there's plenty of them in rural areas. You're almost by definition in a rural area when you see one.
Note In Passing
I had to go to five different grocery stores before I could find my favorite soft drink, which is Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper. It's only made in 12-oz. cans, no 2-liter bottles or other alternatives.
Were I to mention this to my anti-Semitic sister, she would start raving about "Jersey Joooos" who habitually buy up all the foodstuffs that are on sale, whether they have any particular need for it or not.
I should note that, in four of the stores I tried to buy the Dr. Pepper in, the soft drinks were on sale...
Were I to mention this to my anti-Semitic sister, she would start raving about "Jersey Joooos" who habitually buy up all the foodstuffs that are on sale, whether they have any particular need for it or not.
I should note that, in four of the stores I tried to buy the Dr. Pepper in, the soft drinks were on sale...
The Life John Edwards Leads
In case any of you had any morbid curiosity.
Probably the problem that Edwards has is that although he's suffered public humiliation, there has been nothing like a public atonement or penance. The article says that Edwards probably can't go back to lawyering, given his shattered reputation: lawyers aren't generally held in high esteem to begin with, and Edwards has degraded himself about as much as a lawyer possibly can. He's wealthy enough that he doesn't need the work, anyway. Probably the only alternatives he has that would raise him in the public's eyes at this point would be to follow Christ's admonishment to the rich man: So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." I can't imagine Edwards doing this. He could, perhaps, with wise investments become a philanthropist, but he'd have to work quietly because of the ridicule he'd receive were he to do his work in the public eye, as Bill Gates does.
Maybe he should go on a pilgrimage, or live in a monastery for a while. I don't think he has enough religious faith to do that, though.
Well, he's rich enough to live comfortably and without care, if that be his choice.
Probably the problem that Edwards has is that although he's suffered public humiliation, there has been nothing like a public atonement or penance. The article says that Edwards probably can't go back to lawyering, given his shattered reputation: lawyers aren't generally held in high esteem to begin with, and Edwards has degraded himself about as much as a lawyer possibly can. He's wealthy enough that he doesn't need the work, anyway. Probably the only alternatives he has that would raise him in the public's eyes at this point would be to follow Christ's admonishment to the rich man: So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." I can't imagine Edwards doing this. He could, perhaps, with wise investments become a philanthropist, but he'd have to work quietly because of the ridicule he'd receive were he to do his work in the public eye, as Bill Gates does.
Maybe he should go on a pilgrimage, or live in a monastery for a while. I don't think he has enough religious faith to do that, though.
Well, he's rich enough to live comfortably and without care, if that be his choice.
This Would Have Been...
...Christopher Hitchens's birthday.
Rest In Peace, Christopher. I guess you know by now whether there really is an afterlife or not.
Rest In Peace, Christopher. I guess you know by now whether there really is an afterlife or not.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Biggest Racial-Tinged Trial Since OJ
And probably will be just as contentious.
"We do not prosecute by public pressure or by petition. We prosecute based on the facts on any given case as well as the laws of the state of Florida,” said the special prosecutor appointed by the Florida Governor. She's already telling world-class lies, isn't she?
Jury selection will be heinous. Watch and see if they don't end up with a jury that's 50% black, 50% "white hispanic," to use The New York Times classification. They'll have to move the trial venue out of Sanford to some other town, and even then there will be riots if Zimmerman isn't found guilty.
"We do not prosecute by public pressure or by petition. We prosecute based on the facts on any given case as well as the laws of the state of Florida,” said the special prosecutor appointed by the Florida Governor. She's already telling world-class lies, isn't she?
Jury selection will be heinous. Watch and see if they don't end up with a jury that's 50% black, 50% "white hispanic," to use The New York Times classification. They'll have to move the trial venue out of Sanford to some other town, and even then there will be riots if Zimmerman isn't found guilty.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Meanwhile, Off Wrightsville Beach, NC...
...they're going to need a bigger boat:
Link To Video (Sorry no embed, autoplay was part of the player.)
Link To Video (Sorry no embed, autoplay was part of the player.)
Derbyshire: From the Hole*
John Derbyshire, who lost his writing gig at National Review Online for a quasi-racist article he wrote for Takimag, speaks in his first post-firing interview.
My own sense of the thing is that underneath the happy talk, underneath the dogged adherence to failed ideas and dead theories, underneath the shrieking and anathematizing at people like me, there is a deep and cold despair. In our innermost hearts,we don't believe racial harmony can be attained. Hence the trend to separation. We just want to get on with our lives away from each other. Yet for a moralistic, optimistic people like Americans, this despair is unbearable. It's pushed away somewhere we don't have to think about it. When someone forces us to think about it, we react with fury. That little boy in the Andersen story about the Emperor's new clothes? The ending would be more true to life if he had been lynched by a howling mob of outraged citizens.
h/t Ann Althouse.
*Pic accompanying the article shows Derbyshire peering up quizzically from the bottom of a hole.
Update: Andrew Klavan's defense of Derbyshire.
My own sense of the thing is that underneath the happy talk, underneath the dogged adherence to failed ideas and dead theories, underneath the shrieking and anathematizing at people like me, there is a deep and cold despair. In our innermost hearts,we don't believe racial harmony can be attained. Hence the trend to separation. We just want to get on with our lives away from each other. Yet for a moralistic, optimistic people like Americans, this despair is unbearable. It's pushed away somewhere we don't have to think about it. When someone forces us to think about it, we react with fury. That little boy in the Andersen story about the Emperor's new clothes? The ending would be more true to life if he had been lynched by a howling mob of outraged citizens.
h/t Ann Althouse.
*Pic accompanying the article shows Derbyshire peering up quizzically from the bottom of a hole.
Update: Andrew Klavan's defense of Derbyshire.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Goodness Gracious...
...great balls of fire.
A great ball of fire streaked across the Texas sky during the daytime last week, much to the surprise of thousands of people who witnessed it. So bright that it looked "like a little piece of the sun falling," as one San Antonio resident told the local news station, the rare daytime meteor event was yet another example of the scientific mystery known as spring fireball season.
According to NASA, 30 years of observations show that there's a consistent uptick in the number of fireballs -- meteors that glow brighter than the planets as they scorch through Earth's atmosphere -- during the spring compared with other times of the year. "There are two peaks: one around February and the other at the end of March and early April," said Bill Cooke, head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. "And this remains a mystery."
So, of course...
A great ball of fire streaked across the Texas sky during the daytime last week, much to the surprise of thousands of people who witnessed it. So bright that it looked "like a little piece of the sun falling," as one San Antonio resident told the local news station, the rare daytime meteor event was yet another example of the scientific mystery known as spring fireball season.
According to NASA, 30 years of observations show that there's a consistent uptick in the number of fireballs -- meteors that glow brighter than the planets as they scorch through Earth's atmosphere -- during the spring compared with other times of the year. "There are two peaks: one around February and the other at the end of March and early April," said Bill Cooke, head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. "And this remains a mystery."
So, of course...
The UK Daily Mail Notices NC BBQ
Story.
Barbecue is to North Carolina as the hot dog is to New York. The state claims to be the 'Cradle of 'Cue', and there are smokehouses and restaurants on every highway, annual Hog Festivals, a Tour de Hog cycle race, and a historic route of 24 pits and shacks stretching across the state to Tennessee. My husband Gary and I wanted to sample the best slow-cooked food this south-east corner of the United States could provide, and the North Carolina Historic Barbecue Trail would lead us across plains and through mountains, vineyards, tobacco warehouses and cotton fields to find it.
Looks like they ate at a half-dozen different places, including Mac's Speed Shop here in Charlotte, which I haven't yet sampled.
h/t BBQ Jew.
Barbecue is to North Carolina as the hot dog is to New York. The state claims to be the 'Cradle of 'Cue', and there are smokehouses and restaurants on every highway, annual Hog Festivals, a Tour de Hog cycle race, and a historic route of 24 pits and shacks stretching across the state to Tennessee. My husband Gary and I wanted to sample the best slow-cooked food this south-east corner of the United States could provide, and the North Carolina Historic Barbecue Trail would lead us across plains and through mountains, vineyards, tobacco warehouses and cotton fields to find it.
Looks like they ate at a half-dozen different places, including Mac's Speed Shop here in Charlotte, which I haven't yet sampled.
h/t BBQ Jew.
Great Article On the Left/Right Divide At Reason Magazine
Born This Way?
Technology and changing residential patterns have allowed each of us to isolate ourselves within cocoons of likeminded individuals. In 1976 only 27 percent of Americans lived in “landslide counties”—counties that voted either Democratic or Republican by a margin of 20 percentage points or more. But the number has risen steadily; in 2008, 48 percent of Americans lived in a landslide county. Our counties and towns are becoming increasingly segregated into “lifestyle enclaves,” in which ways of voting, eating, working, and worshipping are increasingly aligned. If you find yourself in a Whole Foods store, there’s an 89 percent chance that the county surrounding you voted for Barack Obama. If you want to find Republicans, go to a county that contains a Cracker Barrel restaurant; 62 percent of these went for McCain.
Read the whole thing, as the saying goes. The author posits both nature and nurture components in what causes a person to choose an ideology. Well worth the time to read it.
Technology and changing residential patterns have allowed each of us to isolate ourselves within cocoons of likeminded individuals. In 1976 only 27 percent of Americans lived in “landslide counties”—counties that voted either Democratic or Republican by a margin of 20 percentage points or more. But the number has risen steadily; in 2008, 48 percent of Americans lived in a landslide county. Our counties and towns are becoming increasingly segregated into “lifestyle enclaves,” in which ways of voting, eating, working, and worshipping are increasingly aligned. If you find yourself in a Whole Foods store, there’s an 89 percent chance that the county surrounding you voted for Barack Obama. If you want to find Republicans, go to a county that contains a Cracker Barrel restaurant; 62 percent of these went for McCain.
Read the whole thing, as the saying goes. The author posits both nature and nurture components in what causes a person to choose an ideology. Well worth the time to read it.
On the Up Side, You Don't Pay For Them
In UK, the National Health Service hospitals are having vermin problems:
NHS hospitals have to call in pest controllers hundreds of times a year to deal with infestations of vermin, putting patients at risk of disease and infection.
A survey of hospitals in England found many were continually plagued by pests such as rats, mice, ants, silverfish, cockroaches and fleas.
There have been cases of rats in a palliative care ward, mice in a children’s nursery, fleas and cockroaches in maternity units, and wards infested with bedbugs.
NHS hospitals have to call in pest controllers hundreds of times a year to deal with infestations of vermin, putting patients at risk of disease and infection.
A survey of hospitals in England found many were continually plagued by pests such as rats, mice, ants, silverfish, cockroaches and fleas.
There have been cases of rats in a palliative care ward, mice in a children’s nursery, fleas and cockroaches in maternity units, and wards infested with bedbugs.
NUI
Also known as Nursing Under the Influence.
An apparently intoxicated woman broke into a stranger’s home in eastern South Dakota and tried to breast feed a two-month-old child.
The baby’s shocked mother was awoken by dogs and called 911 at around 5am on Sunday.
She told officers that a woman she didn't know had entered her Brookings home and attempted to feed her daughter.
An apparently intoxicated woman broke into a stranger’s home in eastern South Dakota and tried to breast feed a two-month-old child.
The baby’s shocked mother was awoken by dogs and called 911 at around 5am on Sunday.
She told officers that a woman she didn't know had entered her Brookings home and attempted to feed her daughter.
If President Obama Had a Son...
...he'd probably look a lot like Paris Austin.
Paris Austin left home at 16 but then, forced to pay his own way, he shot a young mother three times at an ATM in a robbery attempt.
The woman survived, and Austin's friends turned on him, according to defense attorney Andrew Grimes. Now 17, Austin pleaded guilty Monday to five charges and faces 25 years in prison without parole. “He was trying to make money for clothes and, instead of getting a job, he took a shortcut,” Grimes said.
Shortcut. What a non-judgmental way to put it.
Paris Austin left home at 16 but then, forced to pay his own way, he shot a young mother three times at an ATM in a robbery attempt.
The woman survived, and Austin's friends turned on him, according to defense attorney Andrew Grimes. Now 17, Austin pleaded guilty Monday to five charges and faces 25 years in prison without parole. “He was trying to make money for clothes and, instead of getting a job, he took a shortcut,” Grimes said.
Shortcut. What a non-judgmental way to put it.
Saturday, April 07, 2012
Meanwhile, In Charleston, SC...
...an anonymous blog called Charleston Thug Life is being noticed by the MSM outlets there.
Off With His Head!
John Derbyshire over at National Review Online has gotten himself in trouble for something that he didn't publish there, but at another conservative media outlet, Taki's Magazine. Please note that the link I just made might not work, because of both heavy traffic at the site and because there are calls for the article to be taken down/vanished down the memory hole.
Derbyshire wrote an article on race connected with the Trayvon Martin shooting. In the aftermath of that event, various black writers have written of "The Talk" that they have to have with their young male children about how to behave in the racist United States (not how they phrase it, but that's the implication). Derbyshire chimed in with his own version of "The Talk" geared toward a white audience; some excerpts:
(9) A small cohort of blacks—in my experience, around five percent—is ferociously hostile to whites and will go to great lengths to inconvenience or harm us. A much larger cohort of blacks—around half—will go along passively if the five percent take leadership in some event. They will do this out of racial solidarity, the natural willingness of most human beings to be led, and a vague feeling that whites have it coming.
(10) Thus, while always attentive to the particular qualities of individuals, on the many occasions where you have nothing to guide you but knowledge of those mean differences, use statistical common sense:
(10a) Avoid concentrations of blacks not all known to you personally.
(10b) Stay out of heavily black neighborhoods.
(10c) If planning a trip to a beach or amusement park at some date, find out whether it is likely to be swamped with blacks on that date (neglect of that one got me the closest I have ever gotten to death by gunshot).
(10d) Do not attend events likely to draw a lot of blacks.
(10e) If you are at some public event at which the number of blacks suddenly swells, leave as quickly as possible.
(10f) Do not settle in a district or municipality run by black politicians.
There is a lot more, about IQ differences between the races and the need to cultivate Intelligent, Well-Socialized Blacks (IWSB's, Derbyshire calls them) so as to not seem racist. The passages I've quoted above seem to be the most offensive, and yet they are the sections of advice that make the most common sense, given the increasing amount of violence that occurs when blacks gather together. It's the flash mob phenomenon that features in headlines so often these days.
So, go read the article. If you wish to read it more than once, download it to your own computer, because it might be erased from the internets before too much longer.
Update: Matt Lewis has an article up at The Daily Caller about the kerfuffle. It's funny how Lewis et. al. are using the same language toward the issue ("I support the 1st Amendment, but...") that the President and other gun-haters use toward the 2nd Amendment.
Update 2: Under the bus he goes.
Derbyshire wrote an article on race connected with the Trayvon Martin shooting. In the aftermath of that event, various black writers have written of "The Talk" that they have to have with their young male children about how to behave in the racist United States (not how they phrase it, but that's the implication). Derbyshire chimed in with his own version of "The Talk" geared toward a white audience; some excerpts:
(9) A small cohort of blacks—in my experience, around five percent—is ferociously hostile to whites and will go to great lengths to inconvenience or harm us. A much larger cohort of blacks—around half—will go along passively if the five percent take leadership in some event. They will do this out of racial solidarity, the natural willingness of most human beings to be led, and a vague feeling that whites have it coming.
(10) Thus, while always attentive to the particular qualities of individuals, on the many occasions where you have nothing to guide you but knowledge of those mean differences, use statistical common sense:
(10a) Avoid concentrations of blacks not all known to you personally.
(10b) Stay out of heavily black neighborhoods.
(10c) If planning a trip to a beach or amusement park at some date, find out whether it is likely to be swamped with blacks on that date (neglect of that one got me the closest I have ever gotten to death by gunshot).
(10d) Do not attend events likely to draw a lot of blacks.
(10e) If you are at some public event at which the number of blacks suddenly swells, leave as quickly as possible.
(10f) Do not settle in a district or municipality run by black politicians.
There is a lot more, about IQ differences between the races and the need to cultivate Intelligent, Well-Socialized Blacks (IWSB's, Derbyshire calls them) so as to not seem racist. The passages I've quoted above seem to be the most offensive, and yet they are the sections of advice that make the most common sense, given the increasing amount of violence that occurs when blacks gather together. It's the flash mob phenomenon that features in headlines so often these days.
So, go read the article. If you wish to read it more than once, download it to your own computer, because it might be erased from the internets before too much longer.
Update: Matt Lewis has an article up at The Daily Caller about the kerfuffle. It's funny how Lewis et. al. are using the same language toward the issue ("I support the 1st Amendment, but...") that the President and other gun-haters use toward the 2nd Amendment.
Update 2: Under the bus he goes.
Friday, April 06, 2012
A New Card Enters the Deck
Since the Race Card thrown down by blacks and white liberals is dogeared and worn out these days, it was only a matter of time before some enterprising race hustler came up with a new trump:
Enter the Violence Card.
Here’s how it works. When confronted with an instance of racially charged violence against a black person, a commentator draws attention to the fact that there is much more black-on-black violence than white-on-black violence. To play the violence card — as many criminal-justice advocates have done since the Rodney King police brutality case of the early 1990s — is to suggest that black people should worry more about the harm they do to themselves and less about how victimized they are by others.
In other words, pointing out black violence makes you a racist.
Enter the Violence Card.
Here’s how it works. When confronted with an instance of racially charged violence against a black person, a commentator draws attention to the fact that there is much more black-on-black violence than white-on-black violence. To play the violence card — as many criminal-justice advocates have done since the Rodney King police brutality case of the early 1990s — is to suggest that black people should worry more about the harm they do to themselves and less about how victimized they are by others.
In other words, pointing out black violence makes you a racist.
Flashing Steel At the Pool Hall
Over in Asheville, NC, three men are dead and another is in critical condition after a bunch of rednecks went at each other with knives.
Looks like the old story of a belligerent drunk being kicked out of a bar and returning to get revenge on the people who offended him.
In this case the drunk had an extensive criminal record. Imagine that. At least two of the others named in the article have criminal records, too.
The story reads as if it would have been a legitimate case of self-defense for the two who killed the drunk, except that they chased him after he fled, caught him, and killed him. That's an act separate from the drunken brawl in the pool hall itself, and at that point the two men are acting as the aggressors and thus can't claim self-defense. I'm guessing that, given the circumstances, that the men will plead to a reduced charge, possibly of manslaughter, or even try to fight it in court and hope for a sympathetic jury. Since one of the principals had just seen his brother killed before his eyes that sympathy might just be forthcoming. I can't say that under those circumstances I would have acted differently. What say you, readers?
Looks like the old story of a belligerent drunk being kicked out of a bar and returning to get revenge on the people who offended him.
In this case the drunk had an extensive criminal record. Imagine that. At least two of the others named in the article have criminal records, too.
The story reads as if it would have been a legitimate case of self-defense for the two who killed the drunk, except that they chased him after he fled, caught him, and killed him. That's an act separate from the drunken brawl in the pool hall itself, and at that point the two men are acting as the aggressors and thus can't claim self-defense. I'm guessing that, given the circumstances, that the men will plead to a reduced charge, possibly of manslaughter, or even try to fight it in court and hope for a sympathetic jury. Since one of the principals had just seen his brother killed before his eyes that sympathy might just be forthcoming. I can't say that under those circumstances I would have acted differently. What say you, readers?
Thursday, April 05, 2012
Doesn't Really Qualify As News, Does It?
"Volunteer Firefighter Faces Arson Charge."
A volunteer firefighter faces arson charges after Burke County authorities accused him of setting fire to an outbuilding in February, reports WBTV.
Roy Travis Benfield, 22, was arrested Tuesday and charged with arson and breaking and entering in connection with a Feb. 29 fire in Glen Alpine, according to the TV station.
The fire broke out at the outbuilding, located next to a house, on Greer Avenue around 1 a.m. Police told WBTV that they believe Benfield set the fire, drove away and called 911 but then returned to help fight the fire.
Glen Alpine Police Chief Tony Moses told WBTV that Benfield did not admit he set the fire but said "he gets a high from fighting fires."
How exactly do fire departments go about screening for pyromaniacs? Do they even try?
A volunteer firefighter faces arson charges after Burke County authorities accused him of setting fire to an outbuilding in February, reports WBTV.
Roy Travis Benfield, 22, was arrested Tuesday and charged with arson and breaking and entering in connection with a Feb. 29 fire in Glen Alpine, according to the TV station.
The fire broke out at the outbuilding, located next to a house, on Greer Avenue around 1 a.m. Police told WBTV that they believe Benfield set the fire, drove away and called 911 but then returned to help fight the fire.
Glen Alpine Police Chief Tony Moses told WBTV that Benfield did not admit he set the fire but said "he gets a high from fighting fires."
How exactly do fire departments go about screening for pyromaniacs? Do they even try?
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
Monday, April 02, 2012
Sunday, April 01, 2012
Why I Play the Lottery
Because I'm a loser.
There's a lot of us losers out there. When it came time to make decisions, we made the wrong ones. Not all of us were aware of the Seven Deadly Sins - - Pride, Greed, Anger, Lust, Sloth, Gluttony and Envy - - but we practiced them to one degree or another, until you're fifty years old and still live from paycheck to paycheck, still dumping money down the rental hole instead of safe and secure in one's own purchased refuge.
Not all of us blame others for our stupid decisions, either. I'm fully aware of whose fault my wasted life is, and nothing you can say to me hurts more than the things I think to myself on a daily basis.
I've read lots of Twitter tweets and Facebook posts and even news commentary such as the one linked above about how playing the lottery is a sucker's game; the people writing those things are correct, of course, but they are also the people who mostly made the right decisions, didn't waste or ruin their lives, are successful, and so lack the required empathy to understand us losers.
So it's a sucker's game, yes. It's the only game we can afford, though, us losers. Only costs a buck or two to have hope in our lives 4 days a week, for those of us with no faith in our lives it's a reasonable substitute. It's less a tax than a share-the-wealth scheme: we all chip in a buck or two on the chance that one of us will get out of this poverty hole. We're happy that someone wins, even if it isn't ourselves.
So for those of you who had hard things to say about lottery odds and how lottery winners really don't find happiness from their sudden wealth: STFU, and thank your invisible fucking deity that there but for His grace go you yourself.
Addendum: I won $4 on Saturday's Powerball.
I really just want One Good Year.
There's a lot of us losers out there. When it came time to make decisions, we made the wrong ones. Not all of us were aware of the Seven Deadly Sins - - Pride, Greed, Anger, Lust, Sloth, Gluttony and Envy - - but we practiced them to one degree or another, until you're fifty years old and still live from paycheck to paycheck, still dumping money down the rental hole instead of safe and secure in one's own purchased refuge.
Not all of us blame others for our stupid decisions, either. I'm fully aware of whose fault my wasted life is, and nothing you can say to me hurts more than the things I think to myself on a daily basis.
I've read lots of Twitter tweets and Facebook posts and even news commentary such as the one linked above about how playing the lottery is a sucker's game; the people writing those things are correct, of course, but they are also the people who mostly made the right decisions, didn't waste or ruin their lives, are successful, and so lack the required empathy to understand us losers.
So it's a sucker's game, yes. It's the only game we can afford, though, us losers. Only costs a buck or two to have hope in our lives 4 days a week, for those of us with no faith in our lives it's a reasonable substitute. It's less a tax than a share-the-wealth scheme: we all chip in a buck or two on the chance that one of us will get out of this poverty hole. We're happy that someone wins, even if it isn't ourselves.
So for those of you who had hard things to say about lottery odds and how lottery winners really don't find happiness from their sudden wealth: STFU, and thank your invisible fucking deity that there but for His grace go you yourself.
Addendum: I won $4 on Saturday's Powerball.
I really just want One Good Year.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)