Twatwaffles Of The Week

And away we go..........................

Number Five:  Janet Clark, a senior dispatcher with the Crawfordsville, IN police department who took it upon herself not to activate tornado sirens after her service area was placed under a tornado warning by the National Weather Service per city procedure.

 It always just wonderful to see one rogue put thousands of people in jeopady.  Fortunately, she was terminated from her job, but I would like to see her do about 1,000 hours of cleanup work in the areas of the south recently raked by tornados.

http://www.theindychannel.com/weather/27701067/detail.html

Number Four:  Young Song of Pasadena, CA, who is accused of repeatedly shooting a 16 month old German Shepherd with a pellet gun and repeatedly beating the animal with a hammer while it was lashed to a fence.  He is thought to have removed the dog from ayard after beating it to death.  Steve McNall of the Pasadena Humane Society called it "the worst case of animal abuse (he) had ever seen".

Okay, this kind of thing makes me want to vomit.  First, I think he should be forced to work with abused animals at the Humane Society during his well deserved prison sentence.  After which, I would like to see him beaten repeatedly with a hammer whilst tied to a fence and see how he likes it!!!!!!

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-pasadena-puppy-beating-arrest,0,608711.story

Number Three:  Albert Haynesworth, erstwhile defensive tackle for the Washington Redskins, who is accused of fondling a hotel waitress after placing a credit card in her blouse.  (It seems the young lady's hands were full at the time.)  This is far from the first time that Haynesworth has had issues.  Haynesworth was also suspended for the last four games of the 2010-2011 NFL season and was recently charged with assualt after a road range incident.

It would seem Big Albert is a slow learner, but seriously, what is it with pro athletes, specifically NFL players, thinking that waitresses, college coeds, and other females are their personal playthings?  I just don't get it.  Maybe Haynesworth should do some volunteer work at the local women's shelter to give him a different perspective.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/14/AR2011021405667.html

Number Two:  Elected officals in Bridgewater, NJ who quickly passed a zoning regulation which stated that houses of worship had to be located with entrances along state highways; citing concerns about traffic, etc. 

Strangely, though, the only house of worship affected was a proposed mosque that had been the subject of local protests by what I can only assume is the Freedom To Practice Any Religion As Long As It Is Ours crowd.  Coincidence? I think not.  I find this shameful when this country was founded on freedom of religion.

http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20110427/NJNEWS/110427004/1198/NJTOWNS1505/Mosque-backers-Bridgewater-file-federal-lawsuit

Number One:  The "birther" movement, who despite President Obama releasing his birth certificate, refuse to let their "cause" die the death it so desperately deserves.  I even saw a tweet recently that said basically that even if Obama released a legitimate birth certificate, he still wasn't a natual citizen.  I didn't have the heart or the patience to ask him for his "logic", but I do hope this is the last we have heard of these wingnuts.

Peace and love, my brothers and sisters.

Let's Help Our Own

Folks, I will be deviating from from my normal social commentary to issue a plea.  Last night, some devastating tornadoes swept through the southern part of our country, hitting Alabama particularly hard and leaving over 200 people dead.  I am asking that everyone who reads today's post donate ten dollars to one of the organizations outlined in the attached link.  When disasters happen in out own backyard, we need to act just as quickly and decisively as we do when they happen elsewhere.  Thank you in advance for your generosity.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_newsroom/20110428/us_yblog_newsroom/deadly-tornadoes-devastate-the-south-how-to-help

Peace and love, my brothers and sisters.

Move On, "Birthers"!!!!

You know what I don't understand?  I don't understand why the President of the Unnited States has to wasate valuable time and resources proving to the so-called "birthers" that he was indeed born in the US.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/04/27/obama.birth.certificate/index.html?hpt=C2

The economic recovery remains sluggish.  Unemployment remains high.  The national debt and budget deficit remain at astronomical levels.  Wars continue slog on in the Middle east.  The country remains polarized.  Political upheaval continus to grip the Middle East.

And.........................

President Obama has to deal with this inane distraction instead of focusing on the issues above and many others?  And how long do you suppose it will be before the wingnuts in the birther movement declare that Mr. Obama's birth certificate is fraudulent?  I doubt it will take long, and I am certainly waiting with baited breath for Donald Trump to release his tax returns as he promised he would do if Mr. Obama released his birth certificate. 

Speaking of The Donald, I wonder what his platform for his potential run for the White House will be?  Maybe after his multiple marriages and affairs, he can discuss his "family values"; a favorite topic of the GOP, especially Newt Gingrich. 

But I digress......................

When our country is facing so many significant hurdles, why is our president dealing with such an insignificant, baseless topic?  Why are the birthers not dismissed as the fringe group that they are?  Why are we not trying to find consensus on our issues instead wasting time, effort, and money on this?

Surely, as a country, we are better than this.

Peace and love, my brothers and sisters.

20 Years In Prison For Trying To Educate A Child?????

You know what I don't understandd?  I don't understand how an ocassionally homeless mother can be facing twenty years in prison (and a $15,000 fine) for using a friend's address to enroll her son in a better school system.  http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110425/us_yblog_thelookout/rally-for-prosecuted-homeless-mom-who-sent-son-to-a-better-school-district  To add insult to injury, the friend has been evicted from public housing for allowing the mom in question to use her address.

So let me see if I have this straight.  This young lady, who we can only assume has fallen on hard times, faces twenty years--two decades--in prison for trying to send her son to a better school.  Really?  Yet the CEOs of the big banks, investment firms, insurance companies, and mortgage brokers, with their seven and eight figure salaries, who almost brought down the entire American financial system don't even get prosecuted??  Murders, rapists, and child molestors regularly do less time than this, but this woman faces being imprisoned untl 2031???

The school system claims that this young lady "stole their services", yet the city filed the case against her, not the school system...................

What the hell is wrong with this country?  Someone please tell me.  Someone please explain how this is justified.  Someone please tell me how wanting a decent education for their child can cost a mother twenty years of her life.  Someone please tell me.

And while I am at it, someone please explain it to the gentleman in this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDJdtO2DWEU&feature=share

Peace and love, my brothers and sisters.

Back By Popular Demand!!!!!!!!

Okay friends and frenemies!!!!  You spoke.  I listened.  "You Know What I Don't Understand?" is back by popular demand. For those of you who may not be familiar with this blog from its first run, I hope to provide opinion from a left of center perspective, which hopefully will lead to lively and spirited debate and discussion amongst my readers.  I also hope to provide a voice of common sense and reason.  While the vast majority of content will be social commentary, I will, from time to time, comment on music, books, and sports. 

And, on Fridays, I shall bring back everyone's favorite column, "Twatwaffles of the Week", where five of the most lowly, annoying, henious, barbaric, or disgusting figures from the previous week will be publicly lambasted.

So without further ado, let's get started.....................

You know what I don't understand?  I don't understand why, when over ten thousand people were just killed in a horrific natural disaster in Japan, when there is turmoil in the Middle East, when there is overwhelming poverty and politcal unrest in Africa, when Portugal is on the verge of bankruptcy, when American troops die in drawn out wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and when children go to bed hungry right here in the US, American citizen choose to grouse about................................the price of a gallon of gasoline.  Seriously?  Gasoline which is still cheaper that a gallon of milk, still cheaper than  bottled water, still cheaper than a gallon of whisky, and substantially cheaper in the States than in Europe? 

This is our main point of concern?  Not tens of thousands of homeless and displaced Japanese?  Not revolutionaries fighting against brutal regimes (some of whom our own government supports) being killed in the streets Yemen and Syria?  Not female protesters being slaughtered in the street in Ivory Coast?  Not US troops putting themselves in harm's way on a daily basis?  Not children in your own neighborhood who go to bed with empty stomachs on a regular basis?  Not the women in the domestic violence shleters? 

No, it would seem that $4.00 per gallon gasoline is a far more pressing matter than any of the items listed above or myriad other injusticies worldwide.  Gas prices.  If that is all most Americans are worried about, we are more spolied as a nation that I think we are, and that is saying something.  As for me, I would rather pay $14 per gallon, if doing so would eradicate the horrors noted earlier.  Think about that for a bit.

Peace and love, my brothers and sisters.