WTF?!?

So yesterday morning I was sweating like a pig in an attempt to lose enough weight/waist to prove to my new commander that I am trying to pass the Air Force PT test, so he will have a heart and let me stay in the service. It would suck more than just about anything I can think of to be separated from the Air Force at 17 years of service. If I am able to stay in, I have 3 years to be eligible to retire from active duty at age 39. And retirement doesn't mean stop working, it just means move on to a new career after serving my country for 20 years. I can't think of any bigger stress than to be told by your new commander that his view is it doesn't matter if you are making progress, you either pass or I boot you. Especially coming from a unit where the commander was very up-front about the policy of "Here are the teeth behind the program. Screw up and I'll chomp you, do what you need to and keep making progress and you are safe."

So anyway, I'm watching the TV and notice a news story that I had to go read for myself. Apparently, Reese Witherspoon is at the top of "The Hollywood Reporter"'s annual list of the highest-paid actresses. She commands between $15-20 million a movie...WTF?!? $15-20 million for what...6 months to a year's worth of work.

Apparently, Angelina Jolie came in second with similar salary demands, while Cameron Diaz was third. Nicole Kidman was fourth with a measly $10-15 million per film. Renee Zellweger and Sandra Bullock both pull in $10-15 million per film, as does Julia Roberts (although she hasn't been in a movie since 2004 - her next film is due in December). The top 10 ends with Drew Barrymore and Jodie Foster, both pulling in $10-12 million, and Halle Berry at a mere $10 million.

I work like a dog to make my measly Air Force Staff Sergeant pay to support my family and these ladies are paid $10-20 million to entertain us??? Wow, this system is screwed up! We will allow this to continue because we have to be entertained, but we will continue to pay our military members, police officers, firefighters, EMT's, and teachers like chumps.

Gillian Gibbons Freed

I was overjoyed to hear that the Sudanese president issued a full presidential pardon to Gillian Gibbons. Her only action was to allow her class to name a teddy bear. The children chose to name the teddy bear "Mohammed", after one of the children in the class. She didn't name the bear, the children did.

Which brings to mind several questions:
1. Why weren't the people screaming for her execution, also denouncing the children?
2. Why weren't they denouncing the people who name their children "Mohammed"?
3. Is there some kind of double standard for Muslims, wherein they can use the name "Mohammed", but no-one else can?

Society at large doesn't even think twice when people profane Jesus and/or denounce Christians as lunatics, yet God forbid anything be mentioned about Muhamed or Islam. We have a guy who writes a trilogy of books, where in the end, God is killed and nobody threatens his life. In fact, they make movies based on the books. Maybe if Christians had a lunatic fringe that blew things up, people would be more likely to think twice.

The world has become so afraid of offending Islam, because of a small few, that children naming a teddy bear will bring public outrage and calls for execution. I can't say I was surprised considering the outrage over some editorial cartoon/caricatures.

I am optimistic about the number of Muslims who have come out and said that this is insane. It makes me happy to know that common sense does exist and holds sway over people...even if someone supposedly "insulted" their religion.

Teen Suicide After Internet Harrassment

My wife mentioned this story the other day and I went reading. Apparently a teen girl was out on MySpace (grrrr) and received a friend invite from a boy. What she was unaware of is that this boy was fictitous and would eventually turn on her and begin posting nasty things about her. She committed suicide, due in part we assume, to this activity. What is truly horrifying is that the boy was apparently the creation of an adult woman from her neighborhood and some friends and/or family. Now granted, we as a nation will probably never get the whole story, but based on what I've read...a few thoughts come to mind.

Okay...first of all...let me say I am sincerely sorrowful for this girl's parents. They have lost a child and no parent should ever have to bury their child.

Now that I've gotten that taken care of...here I go, albeit as respectfully as I can.

Suicide is the pansy way out of dealing with problems. It is a permanent solution to a temporary problem, which will in turn create problems for those left behind. All too often, the story gets out that the person had problems with life not being fair or some other excuse...NEWS FLASH...LIFE ISN'T FAIR...get a helmet and grow a skin. People can be rude, insensitive, downright mean and just generally crappy to each other quite easily. To allow the crass-ness of humanity to cause you to give away the gift of life is to buy into other people's opinions and/or thoughts. Guess what...we all have opinions and like butts, they all stink. Nothing in life is worth killing one's self over...period. I have a loving wife and 4 kids I love more than anything else; however...none of them are worth killing myself over. Dying to protect, yes...suicide, not even on a good day.

We aren't going to mention that children shouldn't be on MySpace...according to one of the stories, her parents mentioned several times to stop using it and stay away from the fictitious person, yet she persisted. Mayhap, stronger measures were needed...there are many methods for securing internet traffic and preventing access to questionable and/or merely unwanted content. Don't read any of the above to in any way excuse the...the...(My wife will appreciate the difficulty I'm having in controlling my language...a personal struggle) individual/s from any wrongdoing.

Now I've done it...I've breached the part where my paternal instinct to protect children takes over. If after all the investigation finishes, these "people" (read...vindictive buttholes) are determined to have been directly responsible for the harassment and/or culpable in the suicide of this girl...they should be dragged into the street and shot. Children are incapable of defending themselves and for that reason, we have to guard them with such aggressive responses that people think they've been tossed into a pit of rabid wolverines on crack. For a parent to even contemplate the perpetration of such a hoax on a child is unthinkable. There is absolutely no excuse...I don't care what the child may or may not have said about your child. Now, if you witnessed your child being physically attacked by another child, you as the parent are well within your rights to drag the offender to their parents and relay what you witnessed. Will that solve the problem? Maybe not, but that is as far as you can go. Again...exceptions..."A Time To Kill" is about the father of a girl who was raped and murdered, who then goes on to extract revenge. I can understand the emotion and reaction. I can't say what I would do in that case, but it would probably be similar. I haven't seen anything that indicates the girl who killed herself was physically abusive to the woman's daughter anywhere. So we are back to this happening over things said...

As I mentioned earlier, we will probably never get the whole story. However, all of us parents should take from this sad event several warnings:
  1. Be involved in your child's life...but don't try to live it for them or protect them from life. As "The Princess Bride" said, "Life is pain." The pains in life are what make the joys that much more intense. Everytime I am reminded of my son in the hospital with IV's being pumped full of anti-seizure medication at 10 months old, I smile at the realization that it was a freak occurance and he is healthy as a horse. Or when I think of my baby's feet purple and bruised because her blood sugar wouldn't normalize and they kept sticking her to check it at mere days old, but I see her now running or dancing or giggling.
  2. The internet is a truly dangerous place...wonderful, but dangerous nonetheless. The grasslands of Africa are beautiful...at least, from what I've seen on TV...but they are also deadly. There are animals that can kill us without so much as a second glance. The internet is similar. The collective knowledge of mankind is available, in a nearly instantaneous format; yet so are the sick minds that prey on others.
  3. As a parent, protecting my child is just that. I would gladly die to protect any of my children, but that doesn't give me the right to turn the tables and harm another's child. To pass beyond protection into the willful attack on another's child is beyond the pale. Anyone who would pursue these actions, should be stricken of their children and required to seek the most strenous help we can find. We can't fight our children's battles for them...we can only act as backup.

Now I imagine people will disagree and that is okay. Get your own blog and post your own opinions...see earlier for my thoughts on opinions.

Parking

I arrived at the mailbox hut this afternoon, having just spent some quality time in the Commissary (a grocery store for the non-military crowd). I noticed as I pulled up the parking lot that a lady had just pulled in...WRONG!!!

This woman had pulled her car into the spaces closest to the mailbox hut...3 of them...DIAGONALLY!!! What purpose does that serve? Particularly considering the fact that when she left she had to back out and head back the direction she had entered the parking lot from.

I can only imagine some neurons that had been trained during driver's education or simple family training were demolished recently. Perhaps she suffered an injury of some kind...more likely, she's just a moron who was in such a hurry she didn't even bother to park the car legally or with any regard for other people who might drive by the mailbox hut at the same time.

She appeared to be quite confused when I mused somewhat loudly, "Wonderful parking job." Ok, I said it loudly on purpose. I wonder what she was thinking as she drove off. Ok, so I don't wonder...I don't care...LEARN TO PARK CORRECTLY!!!

What's with banks?!?

Apparently many banks have stopped offering their services to people, unless those people have opened an account with that bank. I will provide 2 examples of this lunacy for your "enjoyment" :)

EXAMPLE #1:
So, we were headed out the other day. My wife had a money order she had received as payment for an E-Bay auction. We planned to roll by the bank on the way off post...ack, an Air Force member on an Army post...more on that later...

Anyway, we pulled up to the teller window to ask if we could cash a money order and were told, in no uncertain terms, that without an account we could not avail ourselves of the bank's services.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but the very idea of a money order, is that you had to pay for the blasted thing prior to receiving it. In every case where I've purchased one, I've even had to pay a small fee for the privilege of getting one...not sure that is the right way to put that, but privilege makes it sound better. Why in the name of blue smurf pudding would a bank refuse to cash a money order?!? For the love of all that is holy, the stupid thing has already been paid for. It's not like a check to a person's account that could bounce and you'd be screwed; it's from a bank or other financial institution. The money is there and it doesn't take any extra effort to just cash it.

EXAMPLE #2:
We pay our children for some jobs around the house as a way of teaching them about money and how to budget it. As a result, we need random change to provide for their differing ages, as they each can earn a doller per year of their age per week.

The ATM will only provide $10 bills or larger and our kids were 9 and 6 at the time, meaning $15 was required for the week. My wife had visited said ATM earlier and had 1 $20 bill that needed to be changed.

We were close to a bank (that I will not name for reasons of common courtesy) and I went in with the afore-mentioned $20 bill in hand to get change. I stood in line behind several people who stared quite rudely at me...I think it had to do with my wearing jean shorts (jorts), a t-shirt and sandals in rainy, 60 degree weather. Don't blame me that I don't get bothered by cooler temperatures...just accept it and turn your butt around...the lady just called next. So, anyway, I'm standing in line for around 15 minutes, when it comes to my turn. I calmly stride up to the counter and ask the telller if I could get change for a $20 bill and if possible, could I get 2 $5's and 10 $1's. She asks me if I have an account, at which time I say "No, I don't have an account." She then gets this attitude and says, "You need an account before I can assist you."

At this point, my brain goes into over-drive and the following thought process takes place: "Why would I need an account to get change for a $20 dollar bill I'm holding in my hand? This is cash...not a check...not a money order...not a promissory note...not even a cashier's check from your stupid bank...but cash money, you spastic retard. Were in the name of all things green has common sense gone to? I'm holding a $20 dollar bill...GIVE ME CHANGE!!!!"

Fortunately, my brain checked itself and I merely stormed out ranting about "I just need change for cash...what is wrong with these people?" I did rant it quite loudly and I probably opened the door a little rough...I kicked it open. But are you kidding me? Change for cash...I can obtain that at a lot of stores if I time it properly or bother to buy something small.

That's enough for now...I'm starting to twitch again at the memory...