'Merica - loves us some authoritah!!!! (as long as it's the other guy....)

Americans; we love authority. Sure, we say we love freedom, and liberty above all. But goddamn we love authority! We love it way more. Makes sense. Authority keeps us safe, and able to enjoy liberty here at home. It's a balance that we've accepted as a society. I like police, and soldiers. I believe most of them are committed to service. I see them and I feel safe. I'm sure most people do.

There's an interesting facet to this love of authority though. I've noticed over the past few months that some people are reflexively ALWAYS on the side of the authority figure. Whether it's the police shootings, or the CIA torture reports there's a broad segment that reflexively is in the corner of authority figures no matter what  they're accused of. There is not a circumstance that puts them in bad light. The possibility that authority figures might abuse that authority is so minuscule it doesn't even register.

We tortured people. Hundreds of people were tortured in the name of the War on Terror. And collectively, we don't care. Waterboarding, stress positions, sleep deprivation, false shootings, hoses up peoples asses (anal infusion). 'Merica! Fuck Yeah. 25 percent of the people tortured according to the Senate report were innocent. Either mistaken identity, or their name was given by another - probably being tortured, and the CIA's own records indicated they had no ties to terror groups. We tortured them. 'Merica - fuck yeah.

Police have killed people that should not have been shot, including a 12 year old kid with a toy gun within seconds of arriving on scene, AAAANNNND a guy within seconds of confrontation, in a store with a toy gun.......in Ohio.......where there's open carry and it'd be perfectly legal to be in a toy store with a REAL gun. So, you'd think police would know how to handle people with guns. Now, police have a really tough job; REALLY tough, but when unarmed people are shot and killed, something is wrong. Reflexively a lot of people default to the police side, and blame the victims. And what's worse than that is when notable people speak out, of make a show of solidarity with the victims, the police have a problem with that. Well, what about the cops that abuse their authority and make anyone with a badge look bad? What about that? Nobody, NOBODY, talks about that.

So after some lip service to "yeah, there's some bad cops, but...." It's "police don't do anything wrong, and if you had a problem with the police, it's your fault." And of you say anything critical about the lack of justice for those victims, THAT'S offensive to police, and you don't appreciate their sacrifice. 'Merica - fuck yeah.

"Land of the Free, and the Home of the Brave"

Really???? More like "Land of the - 'listen to the officer,' and Home of the 'whatever you say'"

Fool me once - Fool me twice - fuck you Donald Rumsfeld

Why the fuck is Paul Wolfowitz on the news being asked what we should do about Iraq's descent into civil war?

Why the fuck is William Kristol being asked the same questions? Or Dick Cheney, or Donald Rumsfeld. At least George Bush has the respect for this fuck up happening as a result of his "Decider-ing" to be quiet and paint cats.

How, and why, are people who so colossally oversold a threat, misled expected outcomes, so poorly prepared for occupation, and so pathetically mismanaged all of the above being asked what should be done now?

You might call this Monday morning quarterbacking. It's more like the week after Monday, since what is happening in Iraq now was predicted before the invasion, and during the early stages of the occupation.

"Naysayers" "America-haters" "Non-supporters" we were called. We wanted the invasion to fail we were told. We loved Saddam we were accused. Bullshit. We would be happy if it failed we were admonished by the "grown ups" - as they called themselves when they won the disputed 2000 election. I'm not "happy" that the Iraq misadventure failed. It would have been some karmic justice if what is happening now had happened in 2007 so these fucknuts would be the ones answering the questions - "What do we do now?"

I don't know what should be done about Iraq. I don't know if the United States should do much of anything. I certainly don't support sending troops back. I don't know that air strikes, and drone strikes are enough to quell the civil war that the "grown ups" pooh pooed when told it was coming.

I do know that Paul "Iraq doesn't have a history of sectarian discord, and its reconstruction can be paid for by oil revenues." Wolfowitz, Dick "We'll be greeted as liberators" Cheney, Donald "You go with the military you have, not the one you want - We know the WMD are in the north by Tikrit" Rumsfeld, and Bill "The Iraqi National Congress is a popular group in exile to build a government around" Kristol are not the ones to ask what to be done. They were so epically, and tragically wrong in 03. Why would anyone listen to them again?

What to do? I don't know, but this time can we ask someone who knows what the fuck they're talking about? Seriously - can we?

America's pastime

Really???

If you clicked the link you saw a story about a ND woman who decided it would be responsible on her part to pass out notes on Halloween to kids that are, in her judgement, "moderately obese." These notes called the kids who received them "moderately obese," admonished the parents regarding "consuming sugar and treats," and that she was "disappointed" in the village, and she was taking action since "it takes a village to raise a child."

Really???? Fat kids shouldn't eat too much candy? No shit!? Thanks for the wisdom. Do you really think the parents DON'T know their child has some extra chubb? Expecting parents to read these and say "Holy shit honey! Little Ashley got this note, and wouldn't you know it, she's 'moderately obese.' I had no idea. We're better people now! This is JUST THE THING that will get us to clear the pantry of unhealthy snacks, fatty lunch meats, and high fructose soft drinks. THANK GOD FOR THIS NOTE! IT DOES TAKE A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD. God bless this woman!!!"

I must sheepishly admit that the woman is a liberal apparently. Citation of the "takes a village" tipped me off. And while it does take a village to raise a child, what that means is when you're being a little dickhead as a kid your parents will find out from parents in the neighborhood (village).

Everybody's got an opinion, and that's cool. This is America. And we've been told that's what's so great from the time we're kids is that we're free to express them. But seriously, with the advent of social media sharing your opinion, telling your friends how full of shit they really are, and how fat the kids are in the neighborhood has replaced baseball as the national pastime.