Fuck Patriot Day

Fuck Patriot Day.

Yeah, I know... 'how dare he'... whatever.  Shut up. 

Don't get me wrong.  I feel for the families of the victims of the 9/11 attack and I honor the sacrifice made by the first responders who perished trying to save their fellow humans.  But let's get one thing straight... there was NOTHING 'patriotic' about their actions or the reactions of this country. 

What they did was brave, human, and extraordinary.  By tacking on the word 'patriot' to it, you cheapen their sacrifice by insisting that it falls in with your political view.  Fuck you.  Fuck you hard.

Let's look at a couple of things, shall we?

Patriotism is supporting the ideals of one's country against an opposing ideology.  I suppose you could say that since we were attacked for ideological reasons, that our response to the attack may have been 'patriotic', but that's not how we rolled out..

First, you have no idea what the political position was of any of those people who died.  And you know what?  It doesn't fucking matter.  They did what they did to save the lives of other people.  'Country' had nothing to do with it.  Those people who died trying to rescue others are what every single person in this country SHOULD be.  Not because it's 'american', but because it's fucking human. 

Second, all the knee-jerk reactions to that attack?  Yeah, not patriotism either.  It was nationalism.  All that "you hurt us so we're going to hurt you" has nothing to do with the sacrifice of those responders.  "These colors don't run" (a play on words that most 2nd & 3rd world terrorists without washing machines and color-safe bleach won't understand), "My boot in your ass is the american way" (fuck you Toby Keith, stop insisting that you're speaking for all of us), supporting the car-magnet production industry... nothing in ANY of that was supporting the ideology of our nation (something the most vocal portions of our nation... I'm looking at you Tea Party and right-wing Christians... don't do either)... it was supporting the idea that "we're bigger than you so we're going to kick your ass". And that's nationalism.

So, all of you out there who are tacking on the word 'patriot' to those who died in the attack so that you can get the emotional buy-in to your political side... all of you who say "if you don't support us, then you're unpatriotic and those people died in vain"... all of you who are actually buying all this bullshit...

fuck. you. all. 

Spreading the word about Leslie Burns of Burnsautoparts.com

So... while perusing my favorite technology blog, Techdirt.com, I saw this posting.  Being curious, I went and checked out this post on Burnsautoparts.com by Leslie Burns.  I will be among the first to say that the Techdirt post by Tim Cushing is heavy-handed with the sarcasm; however, I agree with his assessment of Leslie Burns of Burnsautoparts.com.  I think she comes across as a hypocritical, judgemental bitch... but that's not why I'm making this blog entry about Leslie Burns of Burnsautoparts.com.  There are two purposes to me making this blog about Leslie Burns of Burnsautoparts.com...

The first is this: I went to her site, quite peace-minded, to read the whole article on her blog: Burnsautoparts.com.  That's where I saw this:

UPDATE/NOTE
I will not approve any anonymous and/or freetard comments. I give you no space on my blog to “share.” Don’t even bother trying, okay? Thanks.
_____
UPDATE 7/13/2011
If you want to know why I don’t approve negative comments, read this.

That "read this" link leads to another of Leslie Burns' posts on Burnsautoparts.com where Leslie Burns states that she doesn't believe in allowing 'negative posts' to be visible in business pages... whatever that means. 

Well, Leslie Burns at Burnsautoparts.com got me thinking... so I posted this under both of these entries on Burnseautoparts.com:

As a business person who is deeply involved in using public forums (such as Facebook) in the business world, I have to say you're quite wrong about the 'need' to censor that space. If you post your opinion in a public place and filter out any dissenting opinion, you come off as insincere and fearful of being proven 'wrong'.

I help insurance agents set up their Social Networking space... one of the things I teach them is to NEVER delete derogatory posts. If an irate customer (or ex-customer, as would probably be the case) posts insulting things that calls to question business ethics, et al, it is far better to respond politely and rationally to the concern and invite them to discuss it further (usually in person or on the phone)

Deleting offensive language is a different matter. That's just respect for other readers. But it would be far better again to repost an 'edited' version of the original post which removes the one or more offensive words.

This is your blog and you're welcome to handle it as you wish. But when you state that calm, rational ~discussion~ is needed to convince others that you're right... it's best not to completely silence those who may disagree with you. It makes you seem like someone who is afraid to actually have to defend her position and would rather surround herself by like-minded yes men.

I posted this on Burnsautoparts.com under my real name and everything I say in it is absolutely true.  Well, big surprise, Leslie Burns at Burnsautoparts.com didn't post it.  Best as I can tell, Leslie Burns at Burnsautoparts.com didn't even let it through.

Now I know that there was at least two attempts to post some opinion on  Burnsautoparts.com that appeared to support Leslie Burns at Burnsautoparts.com but did so in a ridiculously hyperbolic way.  I didn't want to go that route.  Leslie Burns at Burnsautoparts.com made an offer of open discussion (with a minimum of name-calling), but I guess Leslie Burns at Burnsautoparts.com didn't really mean that offer. 

So, Leslie Burns at Burnsautoparts.com, I guess all I have to say is that I hope you're happy, surrounded by all your ass-kissing, like minded shills.  I'm saying all of this about you here, Leslie Burns at Burnsautoparts.com, because I can't say it on your blog Burnsautoparts.com. 

Oh.. yeah... the second reason I'm writing this about Leslie Burns at Burnsautoparts.com is because if I put "Leslie Burns at Burnsautoparts.com " enough times in my blog, it will be the first result if anyone Googles anything having to do with "Leslie Burns at Burnsautoparts.com".    Call it an active Streisand Attack. 


ps.  Hey Leslie Burns at Burnsautoparts.com, you'll notice that my comment boards are open.  In fact, I don't even have this to set ask me to approve first (or at least, I don't think I do...).  If you feel up to blessing me with some of that "calm and articulate" posting, feel free.  I won't block it. :)

pps. Leslie Burns at Burnsautoparts.com


---Update 07/13/2011 3:50---
Not 5 minutes after I made this post about Leslie Burns of Burnsautoparts.com, I found out that Leslie Burns of Burnsautoparts.com has closed the comment section for the post on Burnsautoparts.com.  Hm...  Oh well... gives me an excuse to add more "Leslie Burns of Burnsautoparts.com" in this post.

So... did the system fail or not?

Unless you're even more under a rock than I am, you're familiar with the Casey Anthony trial.  And unless you were more successful in hiding from it all than I, you know about the fallout from the verdict.  Well, I have some things to day in response to the commentary about the 'failure of justice'...

First, a disclaimer: I am not a legal expert.  I do not have a law degree.  Anything I say here comes from my 'layman's' understanding of how the law system in the US operates.  That said...

Shut up.  All of you.  I wish I could say "I can't believe the amount of arm-chair bitching that has come out of the jury's decision", but given my current view of our 'great people', it really doesn't surprise me.  But for all of you saying how it's an abortion of justice that she 'got away with murder', let me ask you this: explain to me how the system failed?  Other than 'how it failed to agree with your opinion'. 

Our legal system is not perfect... far from it.  But one thing I do agree with is our burden of proof for capital crime.  If someone is accused of something for which they will be killed themselves (i.e. murder), then it is up to the prosecutors to PROVE BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT that the accusation is true.  This is what failed to happen with Casey Anthony. 

Let me state this clearly: the jury did not 'fail'.  They did EXACTLY what they are supposed to do: examine the evidence given to them, consider all available information/perspectives/opinions, and make a judgement call as to whether or not there is ANY reasonable doubt about the guilt of the accused.  The justice system did not 'fail'... remember, it was built on the idea that it is far better that the guilty go free than an innocent person suffer. 

So, while I'm sure you are FAR better-equipped to judge such things and you are FAR more likely to be right than anyone else including the panel of peers chosen to make this decision (/sarcasm), you weren't there in the courtroom.  You do not have all of the information, did not hear all of the testimony, did not have to weigh all that information.  You. Do. Not. Know.  I don't care what you think you know... You were not there.  So, before you judge the jury or the system as incompetent, realize that you were not given all of the information and then had a human life placed in your hands and told to decide what to do with it. 

Now... on to all of you people who are screaming for Casey Anthony's blood... I sincerely hope none of you are Christians.  Because if you are, you just ignored what your god told you to do.  I'm not Christian.... I don't buy into the dogma or the myth or believe that it is any more reasonable than, say, Roman Mythology... but that's a rant for another day.  I do however, agree with the general aggregate of what Jesus (supposedly) taught... and some of those that seem pertinent here are Forgiveness, Non-Judgement, Not-Killing.  So, much like all those out there that say we should be killing our enemies without hesitation or guilt... all of you self-proclaimed Christians who are saying 'kill the bitch', please turn your crosses in on your way out.  You're all failing to follow the teaching of your savior.  And I am sick of it.  Pick a side and have the courage of your convictions.  I'm tired of being a better follower of a god I don't believe in than those who do. 

Look... I feel that it's far more likely that Casey Anthony killed her daughter.  But if I were given all the information that was available and then told to flip the switch ONLY if I was 100% SURE WITH ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT... I would not have pulled it.  I feel that our justice system did exactly what it was designed to do.  Did the Prosecution do it's job?  Maybe they could have come to the table with more solid evidence... maybe the could have focused more on different aspects... I don't know.  As I said, I'm not an expert. 

But don't worry, karmic justice is around the corner... Casey supposedly did this horrible deed so that she could enjoy her social life.  What's going to happen when no one wants to hang out with someone who 'knows' she's a baby-killer?  What's going to happen when the rest of her family abandons her and she finds herself alone? 

Go look back at the OJ trial... yeah, he was found innocent of the Criminal trial. But he lost the Civil suit.  And the only reason he wasn't flat-broke after paying all of that was because his financial adviser had him put his money in annuities which are protected from legal judgements (sneaky sneaky)... what's the likelihood that Anthony is doing the same?  What's going to happen when her financial standing is ruined because she loses a Civil Wrongful Death suit (like OJ) and is forced to work 80-hour weeks just to pay off legal judgements?  How will she be enjoying that social life then? 

In closing: everyone shut up with your murderous opinions about what would have happened if only you were there.  You WEREN'T there.  And I thank your god on your behalf that you weren't.