Cormac McCarthy is right

For all of my three readers out there, this thing will probably start to get a little more personal. I've been leaning a bit hard on the politics, but I've come to the realization that there are probably more than enough blowhards out there yapping about how much Bush sucks or rules--I don't need to be constantly adding to that pile. But, I promise, I still won't talk about my feelings.

I said: It starts when you begin to overlook bad manners. Any time you quit hearin Sir and Mam the end is pretty much in sight. I told her, I said: It reaches into ever strata. You've heard about that aint you? Ever strata? You finally get into the sort of breakdown in mercantile ethics that leaves people settin around out in the desert dead in their vehicles and by then it's just too late.--Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men

I sat at a wedding last night while the best man gave a speech that may have been a bit long, and he may been a bit preachy for some by quoting Biblical passages, but that was his time. He laid it out there the best way he thought, and I respected that. Lots of other people didn't, and it was all I could do to restrain myself from slapping them upside the head (women too!) and saying, "Look, you self-important little snobs--this isn't your time to talk about your new apartment, it's his time to talk about his brother getting married. Shut the f#$% up, eat your free food and drink your free alcohol and give the man his due respect." It wasn't one or two people, either. More like 20 or 30.

Bad manners.

I was punked by a 10 yr. old

Some kid was riding his bike to school this morning. Guess from where I saw him...yes, my car window. Because I'm too lazy and too weak to get up early and ride. This shouldn't happen again.

Wake up! We're fat!

Twice as many Americans as Europeans can't stop shoving food into their mouths, a new study says. Americans used to be among the fittest and the tallest people in world. We've eaten our way off of that lofty perch, and we are sicker for it. We spend $2 TRILLION on health care--16% of the GDP. And yet, none of this makes us put down the Ho-hos, turn off Judge Judy, and go for a walk. Are we idiots? Or are we so lazy that we're unwilling to prevent our own untimely deaths by heart attack and diabetes? Either way, it's pretty sad.

Another stupid invention we don't need...

Is the greeting cards that play music when opened. Every time I go into a card shop now I have to listen to some idiot opening every single one of these infernal things. As if it's not going to play the song listed on the label, or they need to hear "Bad to the Bone" or "Celebration" one more time. Not to mention the fact that the unadjustable volume on these things is set at a level that would make a deaf person cup their ears.

The Great Iraq Swindle

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/16076312/the_great_iraq_swindle

Great reading, if you can stand to learn just how badly private contractors are bilking the American taxpayer out of billions at the expense of the safety of our own soldiers, the contractor companies' honest workers, and the Iraqi people for whom we are building all of this stuff. Oh yeah, the government hasn't brought charges against a single company or person ripping them off. Maybe they're too busy wiping off the fecal matter falling from the ceiling of the Baghdad Police College or looking for the $8.8 billion in CASH that is unaccounted for. Or, maybe they're just too busy writing up the next contract.

Back from vacation...

Although a few things going on in the world prevented me from complete relaxation. Here's a list for your perusal:

1. Kia Vaughn--Vaughn is the Rutgers basketball player suing Don Imus in civil court for the infamous "nappy headed hos" comment that led to his eventual firing. Kia, get over it, and get over yourself. You were called a name. If you follow through with this suit and win, you're worse than anything Don Imus called you. You're now a pimp, and the legal system is your ho.
2. Ted Haggard--Good to see this blowhard is inserting himself into the public eye again. And guess what? He wants your money! It seems the disgraced former head of the National Association of Evangelicals can't get by on the $336,000 he's earned since the beginning of 2006 (plus book royalties), not to mention the house in Colorado Springs he's been trying to sell for $700,000. Hey Ted, I hear the drug trade is a pretty lucrative game.....wait, you've already tried that, haven't you? There's always male prostitution, but you've had a taste of that, too.
3. Idaho Sen. Larry Craig--What else can I say but another morals-spouting, gay-hating conservative wacko gets pegged for a sex crime. Upon further examination, the list of allegations through the years against this guy reveals his career is spottier than Britney Spears' sheets under a blacklight. Larry, can't you find any place more private than the bathrooms of Union Station or the airport to do your deeds? And, do you really need legal representation to advise you to plead "not guilty" if you are innocent?
4. Congress--I hope they, especially Democrats, had some good boots on, because they had quite a time stomping all over the Fourth Amendment with the passage of the Protect America Act of 2007.
5. Iraq War--No politics, no finger pointing this time. The reason for my vacation was to see my brother, a Marine, who will be leaving for Iraq again in 10-12 days. I'm tired of these trips.
   

Bottled water is a joke

I had a rough idea of some rant I wanted to make about the stupidity of bottled water. Lo and behold, somebody did it better than I ever could.

http://www.effbombs.com/2007/08/03/stupid-waternazis/

This has even more relevance in Kansas City, where our tap water is routinely ranked among the best in the country. Add to that all the petroleum used to make the bottles and transport them to the stores where they are sold, and I just can't understand why anyone buys this crap.