I was just going to read the news today and not comment on it, but some things really stood out to me, shocked me even, so I decided to comment on them.

I have to say that the thing that stood out to me the most (and shocked me the most) was this article in The Daily Telegraph titled Racist pub bans Arabs, Islanders. The article starts with this:

SECURITY staff at one of Sydney’s most popular pubs were ordered to refuse entry to patrons of particular ethnic backgrounds in a racist exclusion policy designed to cut crime.

That alone shocks me, but if you take time to read the comments posted after the article, you would see that an overwhelming amount of the people who commented

support

this kind of treatment. Now, The Daily Telegraph is actually an Australian paper and I am not that educated on the racism that exists there, but I equate the treatment of an entire group of people based on their nationality to the same kind of treatment African-Americans received during the zenith of the Jim Crow era. I equate it to the treatment Asian-Americans received during the second World War. How is it different? Apparently, the majority of those who commented seem to suggest that Arabs are the source of a lot of grief over there, so they understand the exclusion of the whole lot? I always wonder if those who so readily embrace the practice of exclusion have ever been the victims of it.

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A Jack Russell terrier in New Zealand protected five kids from two “marauding” pit bulls. By putting itself in harm’s way, the terrier was so badly mauled, he had to be put to sleep. Perhaps I will sound like a hypocrite after my comments on the last article, but I don’t understand why pit bulls are allowed to be kept as pets. They should be illegal. I’m not saying you should kill them or harm them, but they seem unpredictable to me. A lot of people would say that it’s not the dog, it’s the owner. But I equate it with the story of the snake that bit the man who was trying to help it. The man asks, “Why did you bite me?” And the snake responds, “Hey, you knew I was a snake.” All animals could be categorized as unpredictable, but when they are both unpredictable and their potential for causing harm or death is so great, they shouldn’t be allowed to be kept as pets.

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Apparently, a guy who ran a Barack Obama MySpace page is upset
and states that Obama has lost his vote because the Obama campaign took the page away from him. I guess I would be a little upset at first too. But it’s not like he was running a page for some guy who’s running for president of the local retirement village. Obama is attempting to become the leader of the free world and the preliminaries will soon come to an end. The main event is right around the corner. The Obama people don’t even know this guy. They’ve never met him. How scary is that? You’d hate to think that you are this close to winning the election and you wake up one morning and read: Former Pederast Runs Obama Campaign Site. I’m not saying this guy is a criminal or anything of the type, but if you don’t know, you are taking an awful risk. Wouldn’t you agree?

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Saw this on Digg. As far as I can tell, this is pure fiction, but if you read the comments below the article, you can see how this is great fodder for both bigotry and xenophobia. Funny thing is, if you replaced the little girl with Macaulay Culkin and the two men with Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci, hilarity would ensue and you would have a cash cow of a film franchise on your hands.

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In Iran, a bill has just been approved that will allow

producers of porn to be put to death.

I really have nothing to say about this except…I’m proud to be an American.

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Former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey is headed for priesthood in his newly adopted Episcopal faith.

Dude…seriously…What the H?

Apparently, the former head of the CIA, George Tenet, has been scolded by his former colleagues for not returning the Presidential Medal of Freedom bestowed upon him by President Bush back in 2004.

Tenet’s “pals” stated the following in a letter

“The reality of Iraq, however, has not made our nation more secure nor has the cause of human liberty been advanced. In fact, your tenure as head of the CIA has helped create a world that is more dangerous.” The officials then called on Tenet to give back his medal. “We believe you have a moral obligation to return the Medal of Freedom you received from President George Bush,”

To which George responded with the following

I would never give thought to giving back the Medal of Freedom. … I accepted the award on their behalf [the men and women of the CIA] and I will never give that medal back.

Obviously, these guys are just jealous. Don’t sweat it, Georgie. You keep your medal! You earned it…right?

Besides, if the president is willing to accept a purple heart for surviving the blistering…um…verbal attacks he has had to withstand over the last few years, why shouldn’t you keep your medal? Screw ‘em if they don’t like.

All of this news about easy-to-come-by medals has gotten me quite excited. Any day now I am expecting my super cool Astronaut Badge for my — not one but — two treacherous tours on Disney World’s Space Mountain.