Jive ass wednesday

I have 17 minutes to write something intelligible. Then I take off to do an antique show at the Del Mar Fair. I have very low expectations that can practically only be exceeded by whatever commercial reality comes my way. I decided to throw a wrench in and go more modern and abstract, try to hook a few kids. Maybe shoot my self in the foot but will mix it up. Probably won't write for a couple days at least.

*

Somewhere in Hollywood is a body looking for its head.

*

Signore, I a trippededa into the boat...

*

Relative to increased tensions with Iran and our Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, I had a vision of Obama as Pacino talking with Tom Hagen - "Sorry Leon, we need a war time consigliere. You are going to run the operations in Vegas." Panetta doesn't seem like the swaggering macho type. No Condoleeza.

*

Today, Wikipedia, an organization I financially support and respect is blacking out as are several other websites. The Blue Heron Blast is not blacking out, being a fair and balanced blog that strives to understand all points of view. SOPA had some very chilling and freaky potential ramifications, depending on how it would be utilized. Potentially this blog could be shut down for running Youtube videos. But why not take your issue up with Youtube? Why screw with a little guy like me who can't afford adequate legal representation and would crumble if you merely blew at him?

I believe in intellectual property rights. The idea that everything on the net should be free is ludicrous. The anarchist assholes at anonymous once again prove their immaturity by going after SOPA advocates. If anonymous is involved, I am going the other direction. But isn't it funny that Pro SOPA Rupert Murdoch is shaking his fist at Silicon Valley, a guy who's newspapers have this long history of tapping people's phones? A guy who couldn't figure out an opportunity like MySpace.

*

I see that the cyber war is now on between Israel and its mideast opponents.I believe I know who I will put my money on in that battle.

*

The Tebow story is over for this year. Guess that god didn't really love him enough. Rick Perry is also on the verge of withdrawing from the race. He doesn't blame god for his failure, and said the experience has made him a better christian. Bully for Rick, I actually have found myself agreeing with the guy several times recently and he would be my favorite candidate to have a beer with.

*

Jesus didn't do real well in the Supreme Court this week either. They refused to take the Forsyth County case where the appeals court had ruled against the North Carolina community for overtly sectarian prayers in its county commission meetings.

The federal appeals court ruling held that the predominantly Christian prayers at the start of Forsyth County commission meetings violated the First Amendment's prohibition on government endorsement of a particular religion.

*

I live in a town with a lot of marines. I have drank with many of them on occasion down at the Moose Lodge and am proud to call many former marines my friends. They are by in large very proud of their service and do not fit the standard cartoon caricature at all. Mostly they enlisted as poor kids from the country who needed to catch a break.

I was thinking about the urine incident and some of the responses I got from my post. My own brother went after me. And I got to thinking. We give 18 year old kids a gun, send them halfway around the world to kill people and then we pretend that it won't affect them emotionally. But it does. I have three friends who work on base with PTSD patients. These are humans, fighting a sometimes unseen enemy, mostly scared shitless and definitely not robots. They get affected. Who wouldn't? Maybe I would have done worse.

I remember my marine friend Tony, who has gone back to Nebraska, drunk after retirement and seemingly incapable of fitting into society. I remember him looking me in the eye and screaming at me, with tears in his eyes, "Did I know what it was like to have to shoot and kill another human being." I did not.

We need to be very careful before we make flip judgements about "crusading baby killers." Very hard to go through what they go through and not get any on you. These marines are more like you and me than you might think.