6,500 A Year

These are the wages of war.  No, that’s not the number of soldiers killed in battle.  That is 293 for 2012.  No, that’s not civilian deaths.  That’s around 50 for 2012.  Though the U.S. has conveniently classified pretty much every male death as non-civilian.  That 6,500 number is the number of suicide attempts every year by U.S. veterans.  18 a day.

We have failed our soldiers so completely.  Words fail.  When words fail, I swear.  Fuck you, George W. Bush for the unnecessary wars you got us into.  Fuck you, Dick Cheney for your endless cheerleading into war.  Fuck you, Donald Rumsfeld and your whole flock of chicken hawks that pushed the wars.  Fuck you, all you congressmen who voted for war.  Fuck you, Barack Obama for not ending the wars sooner.  And a final fuck you to every single politician who has sat idly by for years without doing anything to address the suicide attempts that are occurring every 90 seconds.

Yes, wars are sometimes necessary, but there is a subset of U.S. culture that thinks war is one of the first choices instead of the last choice.  And those people are in power.  And we put them there.  So fuck all of us, too.

The Unhinged Ramblings Of A Syphilitic Mind

Imagine there was a mass shooting in which scores of 6 and 7 year olds were killed.  Imagine the country reeling from such a tragedy and coming to terms with what it all means.  Imagine grasping for answers to try to prevent such a tragedy from occurring in the future.

What solutions would you come up with?  Would you want to ban assault weapons?  Would you want to improve our mental health capabilities?  Would you suggest that 6 year olds should all run and hug any mass murder assailant that happens to walk into school?

Wait, what was that last one again?  Yes, Megan McArdle is back to bring her special brand of stupid.  She wants to train children to charge at the assailants instead of hiding.  Think of how many less children would have died if they all ran straight at him instead of him having to actually seek them out!

That would be a great premise for a horror movie, though.  A bunch of six year olds who hug their victims to death!  Kind of Village of the Damned meets Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.

If you ever use Megan McArdle to support your argument, you lose.  She’s like a stopped clock that happens to be right twice a day.

This Is My 100th Post

100 posts and 104 unique visitors all in about a month of blogging.  I’ve had visitors from India, Sweden, Japan, Australia, Greece, South Africa, England, Germany, and Latvia.  You know you’ve made it when you’ve got Latvia.

I think it’s time to think about the future of the blog a bit.  Lots of little improvements need to be made.  I’d like to get a banner graphic and perhaps a background image.  For all you regular readers out there, if you read something that you actually enjoy, please consider sharing it with your friends.  I’m interested in getting actual conversations going on some of the things that I talk about.  Maybe I can make this a side job that actually makes some money.  Yeah, that’s right, one month in and I’m already having delusions of grandeur.

That is all.  We now return you to your regularly scheduled banal blog posts.

Paranoia Runs Deep

Continuing with my “Grown Men Playing Dungeons and Dragons” theme, there is another strange psychology at play here in the United States.  That is the belief of just about every group, no matter how large, that they are an oppressed minority.

Many Christians think they are an oppressed minority.  Here’s future Senator of South Carolina Tim Scott talking about how Christians are the most oppressed group in the country:

 

I have news for you, Christians who think you are being oppressed, being prevented from pushing your views onto others through government is not oppression.  Yes, you’ve gotten away with it for many years without much blowback.  That’s normal when a vast majority controls just about everything.  What you’re seeing is not you being oppressed.  It’s minorities finally sticking up for their rights to not be bullied through government.  You are simply finally not being allowed to get away with things that have been always been unconstitutional.  You still control every branch of government in every state.  You still outnumber every other religious denomination by a very large margin.  So quit acting like the spoiled kid that always got his way until someone finally confronted him about his behavior.

The next vastly oppressed minority is men.  That’s right, men.  Who are we being oppressed by?  Women, apparently.  Not just any women, though.  Feminists!  I won’t link to any of the websites, but look up Men’s Rights Activists if you’re interested in mucking through some real slime.  Seriously, it’s some of the most vile crap you will find on the interwebs.  On the plus side, their web sites make for great logical fallacy bingo games.

Another incredibly oppressed minority in the United States is white men.  I know this because Mitt Romney lost the presidential election:

 

Poor white men.  They only control 82% of the Senate and a similar amount in the House while only representing 33% of the population.  It’s so difficult to be a white male these days!

All of the above scenarios are really about not recognizing privilege.  Christians have it.  Males are up to their heads in it.  White males are swimming in an ocean of it.  The oppression these groups feel is merely their privilege taken away from them.  Slowly, but surely, the level of privilege in this country is being evened.  We have a long way to go, but like the wind eroding a mountain, our progress can not be stopped.

Grown Men Playing Dungeons And Dragons

Everyone wants to save the damsel in distress.  Everyone wants to slay the dragon.  Everyone wants to be the one to save the world from a great evil.  This desire can be seen in our movies.  It can be seen in our books.  And it can be seen in our gun culture.

I have a gun in my house so I can protect my family.  I carry a gun with me to protect myself from killers.  I will be able to use this gun to stop that mall shooter.  These are all the thoughts of an individual living out a Dungeons and Dragons fantasy.  Every single one of those scenarios only has a slightly greater chance of happening than you having the opportunity to slay a dragon.

That stranger in your house is not there to kill you.  That person robbing you on the street does not want to kill you.  You will never see a mall shooter.  Statistically speaking, those statements are all true.  If you confront and kill a burglar, chances are you’re killing someone who had no intention of killing you.  If you confront and kill a mugger, chances are you’re killing someone who had no intention of killing you.  You will never see a mall shooter.

It isn’t that you shouldn’t have these fantasies.  They are good fantasies to have.  I have them too.  It’s fun to imagine saving the day, protecting your family, routing evil.  But please, for the love of all that is good in this world, please recognize them for what they are.  And that’s fantasies!  Using these scenarios to justify owning a gun just shows you as a person who can’t escape from their fantasies.  And that makes you much more dangerous than the pretend person who is going to kill you.

What Part Of “Well Regulated” Don’t We Understand?

The 2nd Amendment is one sentence long.  One measly sentence.  Yet it causes so much conflict between people who want guns and people who don’t want people to have guns.  Let’s review:

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

Everyone seems to focus on the second part of the sentence while conveniently ignoring the first.  These are not two distinct ideas, but one entwined within the other.  Yes, the right to keep and bear arms should not be infringed.  Yes, there is no limitation as to what defines an “arm”.  But all this is only relevant in the context of a well regulated militia.

If you want to keep and bear arms, you must belong to a well regulated militia in your state.  That militia can say who gets to keep and bear arms.  That militia can say what kind of arms you are allowed to keep and bear.    That militia is set up by the state.  The state can decide who keeps and bears arms.  The only limit that I can see is that the state must allow some class of citizen to keep and bear arms.  We normally call that class of citizens police officers.

Disagree with me?  Ok, do you think people who have already killed should be able to own a gun?  By your interpretation of the 2nd Amendment, shouldn’t they be able to?  What about that schizophrenic?  Should he be able to own a gun?  Given the 2nd Amendment, why not?

Now, I’m not saying that only police officers should be able to carry guns.  Far from it.  What I am saying, though, is that it is the state’s right to decide for themselves who gets to own a gun.  If a state decides that only police should own a gun, fine.  If a state decides that individuals should be able to own tanks, fine.  If a state decides that individuals should be able to own tactical nuclear weapons, fine.

I believe that individuals should be able to own whatever the heck kind of arm they want.  But they should be well regulated.  Psychological tests should be mandatory.  Regular, state approved, safety classes should be mandatory.  Regular, state approved, proficiency exams should be mandatory.  Permits should be issued for each arm only after a safety and proficiency exam is passed.  Insurance to cover potential damages should be mandatory.

We’ve lost our way on the 2nd Amendment.  Regulation of arms is necessary and proper for the functioning of a free state.  That regulation should be decided by the state, though, and not the federal government.

Sentences I Wish I Had A Use For

If you’re like me, first off I’m sorry; second, you have sentences that come to you that are just perfect but you have no particular use for.  If you’re not a writer, they are quickly forgotten.  I imagine writers have notebooks full of random sentences just waiting for a home in a story.  If you’re a blogger, they go onto your blog.  I present to you my first (of I hope many) sentence I wish I had a use for:

He was the kind of guy that could quote Leviticus while eating shellfish.

Bah, Humbug

My friend Katie is at it again in her quixotic quest to make sure everyone’s happy all the time.  It’s an admirable goal and I can’t fault her methods.  If there’s anyone who can achieve that goal, it’s probably her.  You’re right, Katie, the world certainly SHOULD jump up and down in excitement a whole lot more than it does.

As anytime there is too much happiness and common sense in one post, though, my thoughts turn to the darker side.  You must be happy at Christmas.  You.  Yes, you.  Why aren’t you happy?  It’s Christmas!  Oh, you’re not a Christian?  Well, you don’t have to be Christian to celebrate Christmas!  Anyway, Christianity isn’t a religion, it’s a philosophy!  What, still not happy?  But look at all you have to be thankful for!  Still not happy?  I don’t understand.  You must be one of those people that just gives off negative energy.  My therapist told me to avoid people like you.  Merry Christmas!

I exaggerate for effect.  There really is a pressure on people to be happy during the holidays, though. This is not good for the psyche.  If you aren’t happy and you think you should be happy, you are much more likely to make choices you think will make you happy instead of choices that are good for you.  I am convinced that somewhere out there is a psychological report that says the best time to fire employees is during the Christmas holidays because studies show that people will be more accepting of the result because of the pressure to be thankful for all that you have during the holidays.

There is no reason to be happy during Christmas in particular.  If you’re not happy, don’t be!  Just as much shit happens in our lives during the Christmas holiday as any other time in our lives.  Just as many babies are born.  Just as many friends die.  Just as many hearts are broken.  Just as many loves are found.

Be happy because there are things to be happy about.  Be sad because there are things to be sad about.  Don’t be happy because people tell you you should be happy.  And don’t be sad because you can’t currently think of anything to be happy about.  Be who you are and apologize to no one.  Unless you’re an asshole.  No one likes an asshole.

Movie Review: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Ratings for reviews will appear above the fold, while the review itself will appear below the fold to avoid spoilers for anyone that wants to go into it with a blank slate.

Jean-Paul’s rating: 3/5 stars

Continue reading →

The Climate Is Changing, Unreasonable People Disagree

Phil Plait, the Baddest Astronomer in the whole damn town and one of the people I would like in my neighborhood, points to something that should be pretty obvious at this point, but is certainly worth repeating.  The climate is changing.  We are causing a lot of it.  There is a lot of research on this.  99.8% of all articles agree with this.  Even Richard Muller, the man who doubted climate change and was hired by the Koch brothers to investigate the evidence,  came to the same conclusion.

The best way for a scientist to become known is to prove another scientist wrong.  To believe that there is a giant cabal of scientists that are silencing dissent is to completely misunderstand how the scientific process works.  There is more money in proving that climate change isn’t happening than in proving that climate change is happening.  Scientists that work for the government don’t make a lot of money.  Scientists that work for big business do.  Big business pays a lot of money to try to disprove climate change.  How many scientists do you think would be lining up to make more money and make a name for themselves if they thought there was actually a chance that climate change theories were wrong?  A lot.  That’s how many.

The scientific method: proving people wrong since 1600 BC.