I have to wonder how many millions of my tax dollars The Defense department shelled out to the Institute of Medicine for this advice.
The non profit medical think tank told the DOD that they should proceed slowly on a proposed ban on smoking in all branches of our armed forces.
You think?
While I am sure this was a justified expenditure, it would seem to me that taking away cigarettes from the 32% of active duty service members who smoke, most of whom have access to and are trained to use automatic weapons, would be a bad idea.
While the DOD points to the extra health care costs for smoking service members, I can’t help but think it is a bad idea to mess with the few vices these guys and girls have left. Our combat troops are currently engaged in countries where alcohol is forbidden and the troops that are stateside can’t even get a drink unless they are over 21.
Now they want to take away their smokes too?
The Institute of Medicine recommends that the ban start in the military academies and then be allowed to proceed slowly, with service members receiving access to counseling and nicotine replacement therapy. In that manner we can make our troops healthier before we send them off to be killed and maimed.
I will be heading out early Sunday to stake out some real estate along the Willamette for what Outdoor magazine calls one of the “15 Greatest Outdoor Music Festivals” in the nation.
On Sunday, the music focuses on Gospel, with local greats such as Janice Scroggins, Linda Hornbuckle, and Patrick Lamb being just a few of the performers on the 3 outdoor stages.
Suggested donation is 10$ and two cans of food. All proceeds go to The Oregon Food Bank.
Drop me an email or a comment and we can swap digits and hook up for a rockin good time.
Many thanks to Leslie for posting this on her Facebook page…I take no credit for this…but trust me, it’s worth the read.
1. You can ONLY answer Yes or No.
2. You are NOT ALLOWED to explain ANYTHING unless someone messages or comments you and asks. — and believe me, the temptation to explain some of these will be overwhelming; nothing is exactly as it seems
Now, here’s what you’re supposed to do. . . Copy and paste this into your notes, delete my answers, type in your answers and tag as many of your friends as you’d like to.
Will you answer YES or NO to all of the following questions?––I CAN’T LIVE BY YOUR RULES MAN.
Kissed any one of your Facebook friends?— WHY ELSE DO YOU THINK THEIR MY FRIENDS?
Been arrested? — UH…KIND OF
Kissed someone you didn’t like? — NO, KISSED SOMEONE WHO DOESN’T LIKE ME.
Slept in until 5 PM? — YES, AFTER GOING TO BED AT 4:30PM
Fallen asleep at work/school? — GOOD TIMES
Held a snake? — IT’S WHAT GUYS DO
Ran a red light? — YES
Been suspended from school? — YES (FOR HOLDING A SNAKE AND GOING TO SLEEP AT A RED LIGHT)
Experienced love at first sight? — EVERY DAY
Totaled your car in an accident?— NO, BUT ALMOST TOTALED A PEDESTRIAN (THE CAR WAS FINE)
Been fired from a job? — YES, THEY SAID I WAS JUST NOT TACO BELL MATERIAL
Fired somebody? — YES, TOLD THEM THEY WERE JUST NOT TACO BELL MATERIAL
Sang karaoke? — I’M SINGING KARAOKE NOW
Pointed a gun at someone? — YES, SHOT A MAN IN RENO, JUST TO WATCH HIM DIE
Done something you told yourself you wouldn’t? — DOING IT NOW
Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? — YES, DO EARS COUNT TOO?
Caught a snowflake on your tongue? — YES
Kissed in the rain? — YES, USED MY TONGUE FOR THAT AS WELL
Had a close brush with death (your own)? — I, I JUST DIED IN YOUR ARMS TONIGHT
Seen someone die? — THAT GUY IN RENO
Played spin-the-bottle? — YES
Sang in the shower? — YES, AS A RESULT OF SPIN THE BOTTLE
Smoked a cigar? — YES, IN THE SHOWER WHILE PLAYING SPIN THE BOTTLE
Sat on a rooftop? — YES, AND KICKED OFF THE MOSS
Taken pictures of yourself naked? — ONLY FOR MY PASSPORT
Smuggled something into ather country? — YES, A GUITAR PLAYER
Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes? — YES BUT LUCKILY THERE WAS NO WATER
Broken a bone? — WHEN PUSHED INTO THE POOL
Skipped school? — ONCE–IT TAUGHT ME THE VALUE OF SKIPPING WORK
Eaten a bug? — ONLY AT DENNY’S
Sleepwalked? — OH YEAH
Walked a moonlit beach? — YES, AND I WAS SLEEPING
Rode a motorcycle? — YES, AND I WAS SLEEPING
Dumped someone? — YES, AND SHE WAS SLEEPING
Forgotten your anniversary? — BOTH OF US HAVE
Lied to avoid a ticket? — NO
Ridden in a helicopter? — YES, (BUT ONLY TO AVOID A TICKET)
Shaved your head? — I ONCE GREW A MUSTACHE ON MY HEAD
Blacked out from drinking? — I’M GETTING THERE
Played a prank on someone? — YES, THAT GUY IN RENO
Hit a home run? — ON THE THIRD DATE
Felt like killing someone? — HAVEN’T WE COVERED THIS?
Cross-dressed? — YOU MEAN, LIKE, PLAID?
Been falling-down drunk? — YES WHEN WEARING PLAID
Made your girlfriend/boyfriend cry? — YES, WORE PLAID
Eaten snake? —WHAT ARE YOU IMPLYING?
Marched/Protested? — ANTI SNAKE EATING RALLY
Had Mexican jumping beans for pets? — YES, KIND OF SAD REALLY…
Puked on amusement ride? — AFTER EATING BUGS AT DENNYS
Seriously & intentionally boycotted something? — YES, PENCILS
Been in a band? — OH GOD
Knitted? — FOR THE BAND
Been on TV? — YES, I’VE BEEN IN A NUMBER OF FURNITURE COMMERCIALS
Shot a gun? — YES, IN A NUMBER OF FURNITURE COMMERCIALS
Skinny-dipped? — YES, IN A NUMBER OF FURNITURE COMMERCIALS
Gave someone stitches? — NOT INTENTIONALLY
Eaten a whole habenero pepper? — DRANK DR. PEPPER, DOES THAT COUNT?
Ridden a surfboard? — YES, WHILE TAKING PICTURES OF MYSELF NAKED FOR MY PASSPORT
Drank straight from a liquor bottle? — AS A CHILD
Had surgery? — YES, LOVED IT
Taken by ambulance to hospital? — YES, LOVED IT
Tripped on mushrooms? — ON THE WAY TO THE HOSPITAL
Passed out when drinking? — ON THE WAY TO THE HOSPITAL
Peed on a bush? — ON THE WAY TO THE HOSPITAL
Donated Blood? — ACCEPTED BLOOD
Streaked? — I COULD NEVER DO SUCH A THING. TOO CONSERVATIVE.
Grabbed electric fence? — IT’S ON MY TO DO LIST
Eaten alligator meat? — YES
Eaten cheesecake? — YES, WITH ALLIGATOR MEAT
Eaten your kids’ Halloween candy? — YES, WITH ALLIGATOR MEAT
Killed an animal when hunting? — NO, BUT KILLED AN ALLIGATOR WHILE HALLOWEENING
Peed your pants in public? — DOING IT NOW
Snuck into a movie without paying? — I OFTEN SNEAK OUT
Written graffiti? — DOES THIS COUNT?
Think about the future? — WHUH?
Been in handcuffs? — OH YEAH
Believe in love? — YES, WITH HANDCUFFS
Sleep on a certain side of the bed? — YES, BUT ONLY IN FURNITURE COMMERCIALS
Did his Doctor kill him? Would he still be alive if only someone had said NO to him? Who will get custody of his children? Are his children really his? Could his death have been prevented? Was he suicidal?
This is just a small sample of the burning questions of the day that I came across while surfing the headlines this morning.
I was hoping if I ignored it, it would go away and I would get away with not having to write this, but they just won’t let it die, so here goes.
Put simply….WHO GIVES A FUCK
Yes, Thriller was one of the greatest pop albums ever made. Yes, it is a shame he had an unhappy childhood. Yes, he was a freak who may or may have not touched little boys and used Webster as a hand puppet…and yes, he is dead.
And so is Billy Mayes, Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon…all this week, but all I see every time I log on is Michael this and Michael that.
Every “Legitimate” news service is churning this stuff out, article after article, story after story. Web updates, microcasts, blogs, vblogs…a never ended rehash of the “stars” life and death. I won’t even talk about the tabloids, I expect this kind of crap from them.
So, my only question is….Why?
Is there really that little of importance going on in the world that the most minute details of a celebrities life and death must dominate all news sources, all the time, for weeks at a time.
Did anyone know that US security forces are pulling out of Baghdad this week?
Or, that North Korea has announced that they have the ability to reprocess uranium into nuclear material for their weapons program?
Or, that the state of Oregon has repealed tax credits for companies building wind farms?
Or, that Obama’s program to help homeowner renegotiate their sub prime mortgages is foundering because the banks have not trained their call centers to deal with the issues and foreclosures are continuing unabated?
Of course not.
It is much easier to dissect the freak show that was the life of Michael Jackson then it is to face the problems and realities of life in Modern America.
Lets face it, the news media is going to give the masses whatever they want to see. You can’t blame them for this mess, it’s our fault. They are in the business of making money and they are going to air whatever sells the most advertising.
When America decides that they are more interested in helping solve the problems that face our nation, that is what we will see between promotions for the latest advances in hemorrhoid creams.
It has been a very long ten days. My recent abscence has been due to two factors. The economy and my life. Both are going at about warp factor 9 right now.
My employers buisness has finaly hit it’s busy season and we are going at it full bore. The fact that they refused to cross train enough people over the winter slow season resulted in me pulling 62 hours in five days last week. I have just been to worn out to think, let alone to write anything intelligent.
Then there is life. Overload. Too much that I wanted to write about. The elections in Iran. Obama The Fly Killer and the PETA outrage that followed. Fighting with the management company that runs my apartment complex. North Korea getting froggy again. The graduation of Chris, spawn of The Secret Alien from high school and the Geritol moments that followed. HULU is going to start charging for content. The death of my DVD player. My first Bacon Maple Doughnut. And last but not least, my adventures with The Secret Alien and The Mad Greek over the Portland Gay Pride festival weekend.
Check out this video of an Oklahoma State Police Officer pulling over an ambulance, with a patient on board, for not pulling over fast enough. The Paramedic in the back takes exception with the officers actions and hilarity ensues.
Couldn’t the officer have just, oh, lets see, FOLLOW THE FUCKING AMBULANCE TO THE HOSPITAL AND THEN GO OFF.
I guess to “protect and serve” means something different in Oklahoma then it does in the rest of the country.
Could this be the “Real” America that Sarah Palin was talking about a few months back?
Of all the cable channels that I don’t get, the one I would have to say I miss the least is Animal Planet, an offshoot of The Discovery Channel. As a matter of fact, about the only time I would ever turn it on was when I was leaving the house. You see, my two black labs, Jake and Sarah, seemed to be hypnotized by it. I guess that will give you some indication of the mentality of the channels viewership.
Now before all you bunny huggers start flipping me shit, their is a very serious point to my bagging on Animal Planet. It seems that they are supporting terrorists, filming their illegal activities, and then making the footage into a reality show.
Let me set the scene for you.
You are the captain of a ship carrying out legal commerce in international waters. Suddenly and without provocation, you are approached by another vessel. The vessel begins to maneuver in an aggressive manner, in violation of international maritime law, forcing several near collisions. They begin to pelt your vessel with flash bang grenades, stink bombs and so called “slippery bombs” containing a material that, when placed in contact with water, make the decks of your ship impossible to walk on. They buzz your ship with helicopters and throw ropes in your path designed to foul your props.
Now, if this activity were taking place off the coast of Somalia, it would be an attack by pirates.
However, change the location to the antarctic, and you have Animal Planets latest reality show, “Whale Wars”.
Now entering it’s second season, Whale Wars follows a band of eco-terrorists who call themselves The Shepard’s of The Sea as they engage whaling ships plying their trade in international waters.
The fact that these ships are engaged in practices sanctioned by The International Whaling Commission is just a technicality to these people, no wait, lets call them what they are, terrorists. In 2007/08 the Japanese were permitted to kill up to a nine hundred minke whales and fifty fin whales in 2007/2008 in the Antarctic ocean. Neither species is considered endangered.
This little fact did not stop the terrorists from engaging in activities such as;
Pelting the ships with bottles containing butyric acid, which recently injured four Japanese crew members
Ramming Japanese whalers with their ship, the Steve Irwin. (They deny this but several videos of the Irwin ramming a whaler are widely available.)
Boarded whalers at sea and in one case the Sea Shepherds interfered with the search and rescue of a Japanese sailor washed overboard.
These activities alone should be enough to earn these individual the label of terrorist. Add to this that their illegal actions are being documented and subsidized buy an American television network in search of advertising revenue has me wondering why The Discovery Channel Inc. has not been inundated by lawsuits.
Listen friends, I have no real beef with those who work legally to protect endangered species. I may not agree with a lot of what they say, but I no way wish to infringe on their right to say it.
However, when these groups use terrorist tactics, damage private property, violate international law and engage in vigilante “justice” to further their own agendas, they are crossing over the line and every person who tunes in to watch is an accessory to these criminal acts.
Whats next?
Will the truChannel be sending crews to ride along with anti abortion activists as they bomb clinics?
Sarah Palin apparently took offense to a recent David Letterman Top Ten List and enlisted Conservative talk show host John Ziegler to defend her honor in an interview with MSNBC anchor Contessa Brewer.
Maybe someone should explain to the former VPCILF that being a public figure is to put yourself in the gun sights of every comedian and talking head in the country. I hope you will join me in giggling at Zieglers attempt to do anything but answer Contessa’s questions.
For those of you playing the home game, the missile in the video is an AIM9 Sidewinder, heat seeking, air to air missile with a 20LB blast/fragmentation warhead.
