A hunter on an expedition in Canada recently shot a polar bear that walked hunched over, like a brown grizzly. Upon closer inspection, it turns out, that in fact, it was a grizzly-polar bear hybrid, with long brown bear claws, and spotted white and brown fur. Go here for a pic and the rest of the story. My only question is, how drunk on fermented spring berries was that polar bear to mistake that grizzly for– never mind.
AJ
I haven’t had a lot of time to read about this incident. Nor do I want to. However, I needed to record some of my thoughts here because the REAL story here is gotcha politics and the collosal waste of time they have become.
I tend to be pretty harsh on Senator Edward Kennedy. This is because I believe that he is a killer and, as such, is ill-suited to the moral and ethical demands (not to mention clarity of thought) required in an elected official. He certainly didn’t serve Mary Jo’s best interests that night; I fail to see how he can serve millions more.
However, here we have a situation where Teddy’s son, Patrick, who is a member of one of the most privileged families in the nation, had an unfortunate accident where no one was hurt.
Right-wingers will note that less than 48 hours after the incident, his story continues to change. It’s not clear whether he was drinking or whether he was using prescription medications (legally or otherwise). Some right-wingers will also note that he was in a similar accident a couple of weeks ago. None of this is “out of the ordinary” behavior if you are the offspring of the Grand Maggot Kennedy. However, having a loathesome father doesn’t mean shit to me. Sean Hannity was fired up last night and I wanted to smack him down like the bitch that he is.
I say this: Who the heck cares? If Patrick has a problem, by all means let’s get the man some help. It’s not like he doesn’t have the cash. But this really doesn’t warrant much more than one news item on AP. What does this matter in the grand scheme?
Perhaps a frame of reference would help.
The Case of Rush Limbaugh
A few years back, we learned that Rush Limbaugh was addicted to pain medication. It is clear that the media over-hyped his legal difficulties in the matter. After numerous hyperbolic reporting - also known as “slander” - it is now clear that Rush illegally acquired one bottle of pills. ABC News is quoted as airing this dialog:
Vargas: “What makes this case unusual is the amount of money and the amount of painkillers involved.”
Ross: “Yes, as we first reported here, he was taking out amounts of about $10,000 in cash every week to buy huge quantities of these painkillers, which led, further, to the investigation. Normally somebody who’s addicted to painkillers would not be charged criminally, and that’s what his lawyers argued in this case, that he shouldn’t face criminal charges. This took on a different flavor because of the amount of money involved and the extent of the fraud.”
As we now know, this report was mostly false. The media only served to destroy the man’s reputation.
The Case of Steve-O
If we think that celebrities in this country don’t get a free pass, think again. For those not in the know, Steve-O is the Jackass famous for waxing his genital region, stapling his scrotum to his leg, stapling his butt cheeks together, and swallowing a goldfish alive and then vomiting it back to freedom. Observe his hilarious “dumb tattoos” pics.
Despite his celebrity status, Steve-O is not what I would refer to as a society’s elite. Yet even the most despicable of the 15 minute posse got a free pass at the LA premier of 50 Cent’s “Get Rich or Die Trying” movie. In this amazing clip, the world’s most corrupt police department watches Steve-O open (and presumably smoke) a sack of weed in public. When confronted, the police show him some love and allow him to continue to live out his 15 minutes in freedom.
If Patrick Kennedy did something illegal, he should certainly pay the price for it. I’d also very much like to see us suspend his paycheck and government privileges during the time he is incapable of fulfilling his job duties, but that might be asking too much.
But I’m sick of the “political” ramifications of what are mostly small-scale, personal transgressions. Who’s with me?
Well well well.
Looks like North Korea just sold missiles capable of hitting Europe to Iran.
I’m shocked, shocked I tell you!
Just as a refresher, from Dictionary.com:
Axis: An alliance of powers, such as nations, to promote mutual interests and policies.
Story posted as first comment.
AJ
Very interesting.
According to a recently updated Internal Revenue Service (IRS) study, federal income taxes were underpaid by $345 billion in 2001. Most of that was based on underreported income, and most of the gap was caused by individual proprietors who didn’t report all their income or overstated their expenses. According to the IRS, non-farm proprietors’ income reported for tax purposes was understated by a whopping 57%. The figure has presumably grown since 2001. A conservative estimate would be $400 billion for federal fiscal year 2005. To put that in perspective, the federal government budget deficit last year was $318 billion. So — do the arithmetic — if people hadn’t cheated on their taxes, the federal government would not have had a budget deficit last year.
Full article here.
Medical warning to those entering a career in filmmaking: upon being nominated for an Oscar, brain activity decreases by 70%.
The moron who ate three full McDonalds meals a day for a month to prove to an unsuspecting public that a diet of entirely fast food is not good for you (paging Captain Obvious) has decided that insulting special-needs children to their faces is actually doing them a favor. He later remarked that the kids’ most important lesson learned during his verbal diarrhea exhibition was the importance of freedom of speech, despite never mentioning “freedom of speech” once during his presentation.
Spurlock, amazed that anyone from a public school audience would object to accusing teachers of being druggies or making fun of the handicapped said, ”To think I’m going to give in to that type of censorship is unbelievable.” I didn’t know this, but apparently the Constitution gave everyone the right to spew curse words for an hour to school children — and get paid for it!
In the interest of full disclosure, I’d be remiss if I denied enjoying off-color humor. But I choose to do it in the privacy of my own home and not during an event paid for by taxpayers.
The right to freedom of speech may be explicit, but the obligation to exercize your rights responsibly still exists. We’ve had a Bill of Rights for 200 years now. It’s time for a Bill of Obligations. Too bad Senior Clown Morgan Spurlock didn’t die during his diet experiment.