Chris Christie, the Governor of New Jersey, was talking to a group of teachers the other day. One of them stood up, clutched the mic, and began lambasting Mr. Christie because she, as a teacher, is not compensated for her education or experience. Mr. Christie’s response? “Well, you know then that you don’t have to do it.” What a concept. Quit complaining to the public administration about your circumstances. If you don’t like where you’re at, do something else. Well done Mr. Christie, and well said. Don’t get me wrong, teachers are great and necessary, but the fact remains that if you don’t like your professional compensation, you can very simply go and do something else. Don’t bitch about what you should be getting–go out and get it.
Conservatives are for small government, limited government interaction, minimal regulation, and are proponents of private industry. Ask a conservative which can do better, the federal government or a private corporation, and ten times out of ten they will reply “the private corporation.” So can someone then explain to me why it is that those on the right are chastising the Obama administration for their lack of action insofar as rectifying the gulf oil spill disaster? It would seem to me that they should exalt in the lack of government interference and the fact that BP, a private organization, is spearheading the solution and subsequent cleanup. Nope. They’re hammering Obama for not making the federal government do more. It’s just partisan bickering and hypocrisy. Don’t get me wrong here: I dislike Obama as much as the next guy. Assuming of course that said guy isn’t on welfare and values his individual wealth and thinks he should provide for himself as opposed to the government providing for him. (And in this country, those are all massively huge assumptions.) But honestly, let’s either concern ourselves with issues or just leave it alone. Partisan banter determines/solves/improves nothing.
The shot today is of a wonderful little highway sign on the east side of Korea. I literally don’t want to go to any of the places this road takes you. It’s not in Seoul but I’ve categorized it as Seoul because it’s easier. Sue me.
Seoul, Korea
Let me get this out first: I hate her. Now… Let me tell you about the woman at GameStop. I walked into the GameStop here on Ft. Bliss in search of a Guitar Hero guitar. (That’s as much as I’m going to go into that.) As soon as I walked into the store, the first thing I hear, overpowering all other noises and even most movement, was the terribly shrill and ridiculously loud voice of a woman. “Johnathan. Johnathan. Johnathan. What game do you want to reserve next?” She already had three PlayStation 3 games in hand at the register, (that’s about $180 by the way), and she was asking her son what game he wanted to reserve next. In other words, she was asking her out of shape little pockmarked spawn what game he wanted her to reserve so the minute it’s released they can pull their greasy hands out of their family size KFC chicken bucket and head on over to GameStop to buy it immediately. That was enough to make me want to choke slam her. Until she said this to the guy working at GameStop: “Do you know why we’re here? Because Johnathan just tested into the gifted and talented program.” Like the high school dropout making $8.50 an hour selling Splinter Cell spin-offs to up and coming GameStop employees gave a shit. Then Johnathan chimed in: “Mom. Mom. Mom. It’s just so hard; I don’t know what to reserve next.” At this point I’m wondering why he doesn’t just use his superior intellect, logic, and as of yet unseen talents to determine what game he should get next. Instead, his horrible mother answers, “Oh Johnathan, come on, you know you’re going to get them both.” Mind you, the entire time this troglodyte was yapping about video games and her “gifted and talented” kids, she was at a constant decibel level of about 130. I really wanted to punch her in the face. Instead I just stood there angry and sweating, because that’s what adults do.
But enough anger. The shot today is of the lovely Chicago skyline, posted in celebratory anticipation of our trip to Chicago tomorrow. I snapped it about two years ago from, not surprisingly, a plane on approach into O’Hare.
Chicago, IL
Memorial Day is for remembering America’s war dead. Generally Presidents spend the day at Arlington. Not Obama. He’s going to Chicago. Probably to pal around with Bill Ayers. Also, Obama hasn’t held a press conference in 11 months. That must be the transparency he touted to get elected.
Eva and I are heading to Chicago this weekend. Cookout with family and friends, Cubs game, Chicago… it’s going to be magnificent.
The picture today is of a handy little sign I discovered in our Brigade Headquarters conference room.
Cell Phone Shots
Have you ever actually been helped by the police? I haven’t. I’ve had items stolen which I reported, and they didn’t help me at all. The absolute only interaction I’ve ever had with the police is when they have been ticketing me. It’s not that I received a ticket recently (which I didn’t), but it just seems to me that the police have at some point in the last 50 or so years transitioned from a force which “Serves and Protects” to a force that essentially tickets people. Honestly, send me an email or comment if you’ve ever actually been helped by the police. I simply haven’t.
Oh, and everyone can stop worrying about the oil spill: President Obama has established an investigative commission. I like where this is heading. Who cares about solving the problem? Not me. Let’s just fine some rich people.
I caught this little gem from our fantabulous local news reporter Kai Porter here in El Paso the other day: “One of the girls, who was in a coma, is able to move her arms and her legs on the left side of her body, but not on the right side of her body.” Good work Kai. And sweet name. By the way, “Kai” is a “man.”
The shot today is of Eva and I in Palestine.
Eva, Paris, France, Rick
Two of my favorite Army sayings: “Water is a crutch.” …and… “If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.”
Why is it that on commercials for alcohol, at the end of the commercial there’s always a disclaimer wherein the manufacturer implores that you “drink responsibly.” Is that some sort of federally regulated disclaimer, akin to the warnings on cigarettes? Is it a bandwagon of responsibility the producers have all jumped on? I don’t know. Either way, it’s ridiculous.
Dennis Miller is incredible. If you don’t listen to him on the AM radio, then you should.
Eva and I are going to Chicago over Memorial Day weekend. Hopefully we can catch a Cubs game.
I’ll update with something of more substance later. Maybe.
Arc de Triumph — Paris
Paris, France
Elena Kagan makes me want to vomit. I don’t care much that she may or may not be qualified whatsoever, and I don’t care much that she’s likely a lesbian, and I don’t care much that she’ll have been picked by Obama who hasn’t done much of positive substance. I expect all of these things now. At this point I just don’t like that she’s so damned grody.
The shot today is of a famous little canal area in Bruges, Belgium. If you’ve seen the movie In Bruges then you’ve seen this little area before. If you haven’t seen In Bruges, I recommend it.
Bruges, Belgium
“…until at last there had sprung into existence a great Ku Klux Klan, a veritable empire of the South, to protect the Southern country.”
— Woodrow Wilson
Creator of Mother’s Day. And the federal reserve. And income taxes. What a great American.
Speaking of Woodrow Wilson. Does no one else see the unintentional irony of Progressive Insurance advertising on Fox News?
Students near San Francisco were told to leave school on “Cinco de Mayo” because they were wearing shirts emblazoned with American flags. So… they were told to leave an American school for wearing shirts with the American flag. It makes me so incredibly angry to type that… I’m just going to stop.
Did you know that Chinese products are so cheap because the Chinese government subsidizes a lot of production? I bet you didn’t know that. It makes me not feel so bad for shopping at Wal-Mart. Not that I felt bad to begin with.
I love certificates of authenticity. They mean that whoever you bought the crap you have from certifies it. Ridiculous.
Fact: If you wear a pinkie ring, you’re a douche bag.
The photo today is one of my favorites of Eva and I. It’s of us in Korea. Not Seoul. A little further north.
Eva, Rick
“I do think at some point you’ve made enough money.” – Barrack Obama
“From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.” – Karl Marx
Don’t you think those quotes seem strangely complimentary? I do. That’s why I posted them here. Idiot.
Have you seen the “Pure Protein” commercial where the lady is running and a hot dog vendor and a pretzel vendor try selling her their wares as she runs by? It’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen. Well maybe not ever, but it’s pretty ridiculous. Watch it here… the attempted sales happen in the first 8 second. What kills me is that someone wrote that, pitched it, and the powers that be thought: ”I like it. It makes sense. Make it happen.” That commercial makes me less likely to buy “Pure Protein.”
The photo today was taken off Trans-Mountain Highway in El Paso. I took it immediately following La Vina Wine Fest.
El Paso, TX
