Marathon Post

A friend recently said that due to the fact that I hadn't posted in a bit, she was concerned that the Queen of Hearts and I had our son and hadn't informed her. The truth is: we haven't had our son yet and due to my inability to post I have about 17 different things to rant on. I'll try to express them in order of succinctness compared to time sensitiveness. (I'll headline them so you can skip the ones that don't interest you).

Shiloh Nuvelle Jolie-Pitt: Brangelina have had their baby. Who cares? I hope no one, and here's why: People magazine paid $4 million for exclusive North American rights to the first pictures of Shiloh Nuvelle Jolie-Pitt. That's a lot of money. Where did they get it? From anyone who buys this edition of their periodical! That's right: People has more than doubled the cost of their magazine for this one edition. If you want to have the first pictures of this child born out of wedlock to a man and woman who were married to other people when the began their relationship ~ You are going to pay for it! Why oh why do we worship celebrities in our culture?

The UN: This impotent grouping of nations continues to baffle me. Due to the suicides in Guantanamo they are once again calling for it's closure. How susceptible and emotional is this body of ambassadors? If suicides lead to the demand of the closure of a detention center then the doors of all jails should be closed. Why doesn't the UN worry about Sing Sing? What about the genocide and civil wars in Africa? Why don't they cry out about those? Look: Be like Amnesty International who is at least consistent in their knee-jerk human rights for all including convicts and murders, or continue to meet without actually doing anything (You're good at that anyway.) (Oh, by the way: Germany is trying to take over Europe through the EU, have you noticed that? No, I didn't think so.)

Canada: Recently (or not so recently anymore), Canada apprehended terrorists in their nation that were planning on assassinating their Prime Minister. This is a massive blow to the "let's pull out of Iraq and the terrorism will cease" crowd. What has Canada done in regard to Iraq? Opposed the war, avoided the coalition, made their stance known around the world. What is Canada? Still a target for international terrorism. It seems that simply not being Islamic is a good enough reason for terrorists to plan on breaking into your legislature and beheading your Prime Minister with a sword.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi: When I heard the news I was happy. Then I realized: I'm happy that someone is dead. I'm happy that someone has lost his opportunity for redemption. I wasn't too happy after that. I was puzzled. This is the man who beheaded "infidels." He was the mastermind of the attacks on my countrymen. He was the Al-Qaeda mastermind in Iraq (wait, I thought Al-Qaeda wasn't in Iraq). My contemplation lead me to a place where I wanted to say that "This was a man that God wanted to love." Did not God love him anyway? I think he did. And now Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is separated from his maker forever. I continue to believe that no human has the right to hoist that punishment on another. That is for God to justly decide. In allowing/causing al-Zarqawi's death, wasn't God sovereign over this and, therefore, sentencing al-Zarqawi to this judgement? Whoops, theological spiral that will drive me crazy. The conversion of a radical Muslim (which would probably lead to his martyrdom) would be much more powerful on the world stage than the death of one at the hands of an enemy.

Measles: There have been enough cases of the Measles recently for the CDC (center for disease control) to label this as an outbreak. It's interesting to note that it hasn't only been the Measles, "German Measles" (or Rubella) have also been reported. Many have been asking, "How are these people getting the measles? Aren't we all inoculated against them?" The answer is: Yes. By law, one must receive their measles shots before they can attend school. Measles shots are a three stage process that inoculates you against Measles and Rubella. In fact, if you are going to immigrate into this country, you must also "have your shots." However, some of our neighboring countries do not offer their citizens immunizations against these diseases. So, if someone were to enter this country without the government knowing and without the government being able to regulate their medical care, then they would be susceptible to these diseases. I mean, this would only happen if someone entered the country, say, illegally. But we should continue to allow this and let them stay, right? (I don't think I got my small pox vaccination, have you?)

Ann Coulter: Critics of Ms. Coulter's new book "Godless: The Church of Liberalism" are focusing on one sentence in particular: "These broads are millionaires, lionized on TV and in articles about them, reveling in their status as celebrities and stalked by grief-arazzis. I've never seen people enjoying their husbands' deaths so much." Most news outlets will tell you that this is a statement about 9/11 widows. This is a gross overstatement. This is about four women from New Jersey who have appeared in political ads, and other public forums. Many people take issue with this statement. I am among them. This quote is rude, abrasive, and calloused. Is it untrue? They are millionaires, they have been interviewed countless times because of their dislike for the current administration, and they have actively supported liberal candidates. The "enjoying" portion is simply opinion, and if I were them, this sentence might spur me into reviewing how I've been behaving because someone thinks I'm enjoying my spouse’s death. The flip side of this is that many people do not take issue with other "controversial figures" like Michael Moore. Is this because they are on the other side of the isle? No one bats an eye when he says things like: "The Iraqis who have risen up against the occupation are not 'insurgents' or 'terrorists' or 'The Enemy.' They are the revolution, the Minutemen, and their numbers will grow - and they will win." (Really, people killing Americans are to be honored? Is this something he's hoping for?). Even "wikipedia" slams Coulter while pretending to offer criticism of Moore. Bottom line: Too often people claim that you cannot disagree with people like the New Jersey Widows because of their losses. Well, if they didn't want to face criticism they should have stayed out of the spotlight. Also, while I cannot support the manner in which Coulter presented her argument, why doesn't anyone slam the Left like they love to rage on the Right? Ann's job is to sell books. This one sentence may double her sales.

So, now that you’ve taken an hour to wade through all of this, any comments on what you’ve read? Would you like to respond to what which is just my opinion?