Amnesia

…and though the news was rather sad, I just had to laugh.

I don’t normally go on political rants here at Amnesia, only because usually it’s a topic I leave to people more experienced than I am in the field. Yet, the more news that came in about the banking industry and the economy made me shake in my skin.

Let’s take Bush’s most popular soundbite of the day, shall we? He was quoted as saying that our banking functions and facilities in the US are “basically okay.” Now, as an intelligent person, that description made me pause for a moment. I know that I am not the only one on the planet that understands the adverb in his sentence subtly hints at a bit of doubt.

Let’s deconstruct the following:

“The Hindenburg is glorious in her stature! The most brilliant dirigible the world has ever seen! She’s basically safe.”

Had that last sentence been used in any descriptions of the big hydrogen balloon, and had I been alive and wealthy in 1937; I would have probably stopped short of paying actual money to secure my transport to Lakehurst from Berlin; lest I became a crispy critter falling from the New Jersey sky.

What’s my point exactly? Well, the worst thing this administration could do for the people of this country is place GWB at the podium when we are suffering. I don’t know about you, but when we are failing so soundly as a democracy with institutions such as the Patriot Act, and our constitutional rights are eroding faster than the beaches we are swearing to protect, (I know, major run-on sentence there) this administration might as well be handing out flogs to further the suffering of its less-than-wealthy population. I cringe when anyone in our current government tries to smooth things over or make everything better by giving me back some of  my hard earned money to ultimately stimulate the failing economy.

So far, every time our great president has tried to strike down the reasonable fears of his general public, something else breaks and life for the hardest working Americans gets a little more bleak.

Let me ask you this:

The plane you are sitting on, has just been described as basically safe.

The bridge you are driving over has been declared as basically safe.

The car in which you’ve strapped-in your children has been certified by a mechanic as basically safe.

While this may be a comfort to apathetic people who are riding through life with blinders over their eyes, the smarter folk of the world take a step back and start weighing in the consequences and benefits of subjecting ourselves to scenarios which involve the word “basically”.

This is just yet another example as to why the international community must laugh at our country. We are constantly being represented by someone who can’t even grasp the language well enough to comfort his own people.

But don’t worry good people of the USA, we’ll be basically okay…

…aside from the poor who can’t afford a doctor. Or the middle class who are getting laid off at an alarming rate. Or the single mother who has to rely on government assistance once again because she can’t afford the rising food costs. Or the gay couples who want to adopt an orphan who would normally be raised in a dilapidated and degraded facility or the….

Get my point, now?

Furthermore, while I’m ranting; solutions for high gas prices shouldn’t be to open up off-shore and protected wild land drilling in Alaska. Hell, I almost threw a shoe through my TV when I saw the Chrysler commercial touting that they were “protecting me from high gas prices” by capping prices at the pump at $2.99 a gallon for 3 years if you buy an overly expensive and cheaply made vehicle.

Give me a fucking break.

Had Chrysler not built the huge ass gas guzzling behemoths, they wouldn’t have contributed to the problem we currently have. It is the rare person who actually stops to think about that. So while corporations that have continually made money off making this world a shittier place to live, tout green and environmentally friendly fixes to all of our biggest problems, lets all go ahead and stick another fattening french fry in our mouths and wallow in our ignorance and apathy when the good ole boy waddles up to the podium in a vain attempt to make us feel better with a concerned smirk on his face.

UGH! *steps off podium, kicks it, and stomps off in a disgusted huff*

This is just disgusting and needs to be rectified immediately. How can we expect the men and women to lay down their lives for this country when they are forced to live in such deplorable conditions upon their return?  I want to vomit. Write your congressman, hell, write the President who signs each order to send these heroes off to war, and let them know how mad this makes you.

“We do not forgive, we do not forget…

Expect us.”

Hackers have declared war on the Church of Scientology. The video is really creepy, but then again, its target is too. While I’ll keep my thoughts on the religion to myself, I can’t help but watch this video and just get a really ominous feeling. It’s like something out of “The Matrix” or a…science fiction book.

Reverend Dollar rakes in the big bucks!

I consider myself a loving Christian. I believe in Jesus Christ, and I believe in God the Father. However, there are some things that just scare me about organized religion. While some may find solace in its ritualistic embrace, it’s the Mediavangelists that really give me the creeps. On the rare occasion that I’m channel surfing on a Sunday, or oddly enough, late at night, it’s akin to the big top coming to town.

It looks like my fears are not that crazy either, according to the article linked above, some of the late night peddlers of God’s word are raking in the dough from generous contributions given by needy people.

The Good Reverand Creflo Dollar, (yes, that’s his last name) with the World Changers Church International raked in the moolah totaling around a cool 69 million last year alone.

Out of this article comes one of the best quotes I’ve ever heard from someone who claims to be a preacher:

“Without a doubt, my life is not average,” he said. “But I’d like to say, just because it is excessive doesn’t necessarily mean it’s wrong.”

How is anything in that quote not hysterical? I’m hoping if we ever get to see the second coming of Christ, he beats and casts aside the almighty Dollar like the gamblers and debt collectors in the temples of old, and shoves that Rolls right up his…

Okay, that’s not becoming of a Christian. By the way, last time I spoke with the big man above, Creflo, there was no valet parking in Heaven.

There is however plenty of special valet parking in Hell.

Due to ‘financial reasons’. Wow.

Did losing all those Iraq war pullout date office pools whittle away at his $168K/year salary?

While I’m sure the White House will spin this to look as if they ultimately planned it, I’m laughing hysterically that Bush’s ‘people’ are abandoning ship just timely enough to be called survivors of the S.S. Lame Duck, instead of committing career suicide in going down with the ship.

Oooh. That’s witty.

NASA has decided against repairing the space shuttle for it’s return to earth. What I find the most interesting bit of information in the entire article is that they aren’t even worried that gases will find their way into the crack and breach the ship, causing the same horrific explosion seen with Columbia.

I don’t understand why they aren’t even concerned! The article mentions that the lack of fixing the ship with a space walk will open NASA up to longer repairs once the shuttle hits dirt (in a million pieces?).

Looking at this logically, they had no idea the size of the hole or the location on the failed Columbia landing. They concluded the cause after picking up small pieces of the shuttle in Texan’s backyards. It was the only scientific explanation at the time.

Trying desperately not to go into conspiracy theory here, but was NASA lying to us just to appease the conscience of the American public? If they weren’t, wouldn’t you be sending those astronauts out there, risking further damage to the ship if you’re going to have to repair it when it lands anyway?

Do they want the shuttle to explode? Will it give them enough clout to clean house and beg the government for the funding for a better and more reliable ship?

I do believe if this is the case, the mob will have lost all interest in the United States Space Program.

Whatever the cause, I do hope God watches these men and women as they descend through the atmosphere. I for one will be waiting with baited breath to see they land in one piece.

After initial inspection it looks as if the gouge in the heat shield actually did penetrate all the way through. It happens to be on the underside of the wing which is reinforced by aluminium, so NASA is debating whether or not to risk the space walk to fix it as they believe the shuttle will be okay for safe retrieval.

 Uh.

What is to debate here? I mean come on! Draw straws or something to fix it, but do it! Fix the rest while you’re out there. I hate to be a bean counter and figure out the calculated risk, but in this case there is no other space shuttle that can just scurry along side and grab these guys while the other one goes into the shop. There is an actual requirement not just a  need to eventually get these astronauts back.

NASA wouldn’t even be in this position had they had a better shuttle. They shouldn’t even be flying missions until the new tank without the foam is installed! We avid space advocates hold our breath every time the shuttle goes up and then comes down when these cracks and holes are present and the sad part is that it doesn’t even have to be an issue anymore.

This is careless administration on the part of NASA. Sorry for the insult, Dr. Michael Griffin. The team at Canaveral can risk the lives of 7 astronauts every time they launch with such faulty equipment, I don’t understand why fixing the shuttle to bring them safely home would even be under consideration and/or debate.

While our drive for space exploration is at an all time low, if another shuttle falls out of the sky and lands in pieces in people’s back yards again, NASA will crumble under public scrutiny and outcry.

Roughly a week after I wrote my first piece on the subject, The Washington Post came out with an expose on the conditions at the top military hospital  — Walter Reed. As you can see from the linked article, conditions there are extremely poor.

Behind the door of Army Spec. Jeremy Duncan’s room, part of the wall is torn and hangs in the air, weighted down with black mold. When the wounded combat engineer stands in his shower and looks up, he can see the bathtub on the floor above through a rotted hole. The entire building, constructed between the world wars, often smells like greasy carry-out. Signs of neglect are everywhere: mouse droppings, belly-up cockroaches, stained carpets, cheap mattresses.
Read the rest of this entry »

While I helped my children with their Valentine’s Day cards and candy that they’d be passing out to classmates, I dressed in black to protest this overly commercialized holiday. I know — I’m dramatic.

The fact is, you shouldn’t need a reason to buy flowers for your spouse, or take him/her out to dinner.  If all you do is wait for the one day of the year to express how much a significant other means to you, you’ve got serious relationship problems.

 So I say “boooooo” to Valentine’s Day. Let the children have their fun. I’m going to celebrate my loneliness with a glass of Reisling and… oh wait. I think we just got to the crux of the problem didn’t we?

Happy Valentine’s Day to those who celebrate it.

Told to Wait, A Marine Dies - Link to an Article on Boston.com

When I first clicked on this link earlier today, I thought perhaps it was in reference to a Marine succumbing after being told to wait at a medical facility for treatment of a physical injury.

Turns out, I was half right.

Here’s a brief summary of the five part article:

Marine fights for his country. Marine comes back from war with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD). He visits the VA for help with his suicidal thoughts and is told that the clinician is not available and to wait for a call the following day. The next day arrives and sure enough there is a phone call from the once missing doctor.

Explaining the incredibly serious symptoms again, the Marine is told there are no beds available for him and there are 36 people in front of him for any sort of treatment.

A few days later, the Marine hangs himself. Read the rest of this entry »