May As Well Have My Say...

I didn't feel compelled to visit Chick-Fil-A, or compelled not too. It's one of those places that exists in my world for the purpose of driving blindly passed... like Target stores, fitness centers and Italian restaurants.
In short, I am aware that they are out there... and that's it.

Despite my own indifference, I watched with curious interest the last two weeks as my feed exploded with Chick-Fil-A related postings, the vast majority of which were negative and condemning. (Much of my kin is lock-step, knee-jerking, toe-tag Left. All of my kin are outspoken and brash. Yeah, my feed can get entertaining...)

I'm like... My God, all this over chicken sandwiches??
Of course not.

Whenever a culture war event of this magnitude occurs, there is a lot more going on, a lot of history and hurt feelings, a lot of name calling... that led up to this.

You see, Hitler opposed gay people, so if you don't agree that two men should be allowed to marry, then you hate gays, just like Hitler... who also didn't like free speech that he disagreed with, just like the gays, who must be on Hitler's side...
This is what much of it sounds like to me.
This can go round and round...

Gays see themselves as fighting for their right to exist among humanity. In their way, through their eyes, I can see where this comes from in a world where being Gay is illegal in most societies, and can get you executed by The State in even some modern, educated ones.

Given the state of the world at large, the generally progressive European and American societies serve as a sort of oasis for gays within a desert of hostility. It makes sense that this oasis would be heavily guarded by any means available by Gays who adopt a world-view sense of their sexuality.

It's also quite a stretch to go from "I have moral objections to homosexual acts that are based upon 8,000 years of social and civilized tradition, not to mention biology." to "Kill all those faggots!"

I'm willing to bet that it would difficult to find anybody among the Chick-Fil-A-tionists of the past week who would be OK with the public hanging of Gays.
Yet, at the same time, it's easy to see why a segment of the population would be just a tad peeved with some of the bully tactics employed by the Gay Marriage supporters...
This peevedness goes beyond a few big city mayors, and extends to the past several years of antics the Gay side has been guilty of.
From Judges redefining the English language in California, despite the will of the voters to decide the meanings of the words they use...
To death threats delivered to openly anti-Gay Marriage churches.
Yes, death threats... from the liberal progressive tolerance crowd who oppose hate.

People flocked to Chick-Fil-A as a way of saying 'We are tired of your shit already!', not because of hatred.

Not everybody who opposes Gay marriage is acting out of hate, just like not all Gay marriage supporters endorse acts of terrorism. I think sensible folks can at least agree this much.

A few things I would like to say:

Cultural Traditionalists (I am one) need to recognize that some traditions are no longer as we remember them, that cultural values are/can be malleable in expression while the virtue (two committing as one) still remains.

Gays (I never was one)need to understand that 8,000 plus years of human/social/theological tradition will not be overturned so easily. Judges and politicians can decree, but people are people, and will behave according their whims first and foremost. I'm not saying to give up the struggle, I'm just saying try a little bit softer tact, maybe openly condemn the terrorists in your midst.

Christianists (I once was one, but got over it quickly) need to understand that we live a secular society with a decidedly secular form of government, by design. Trust me, you Fundamentalist types were on the wrong side of non-secular government in the past, and it wasn't pretty. It is possible that you will be again. If you desire to offer any logical/consistent defense in the future, you need to be honest now.
I suggest sticking to first principles of 'Church-State Separation' that you so valiantly defended (and rightly so.)
Looking to The World to protect the Christian sanctity of sexual unions is looking toward a false authority for an affirmation that can only come from God.

Free people should be allowed to enter into any living arrangements they desire and contract authority over their lives accordingly. I see nothing wrong with government enforcing these contracts and responsibilities as it does now with marriages.

What passes for marriage anymore is a far cry from the institution my grandparents took part in. There really is nothing Holy about government sanctioned matrimony anymore, so lets stop pretending that there is.

Same Sex Marriage will always be a contradiction. That said, government by nature is corrupt and run by whores... renaming something to it's liking doesn't make it so anymore more than calling a cat a dog will.

My guess is that Same Sex Marriage will be the law of the land a lot sooner than anybody thinks.
I don't mind.

Getting It A Bit Harder Than Expected

When Punk is outlawed, only outlaws will be punks.

Three members of the Russian punk rock band Pussy Riot pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of hooliganism after performing a song criticizing President Vladimir Putin in a Moscow church, Russia's state news agency reported.

The charge, which carries a potential seven-year sentence, stems from an unusual performance they gave in February.

"Mother Mary please drive Putin away," the band screamed, their faces covered in neon masks, inside Moscow's Christ Savior Cathedral.

The anonymous, feminist protest band called it a punk prayer.

Putin is letting all of Russia know that he don't play games while creating political martyrs out of a few crazy chicks who don't appear to be all that threatening.

Seven years is a long time to spend in prison for a song criticizing the president of a supposedly democratic state while pissing on Russian society's most enduring institution.

In their favor: World-wide artistic cred. Nothing says 'talking back to the man' quite like risking prison over it.

Anaheim, What's Going On

Anaheim has been in the national news this past week. I'm sure you are all aware of it.

In short, Anaheim cops shot a man to death last Saturday, and capped another one on Sunday.
This has the Mexicans all pissed off...

The first shooting is a tad more suspect than the second, with 'witnesses' claiming an execution style slaying of an innocent non-gang member.
I find it hard to believe that a cop would be stupid enough to try to pull off a shooting of that nature in a public street, where witnesses abound, but... if it did, then the cop needs to be taken down.
No doubt about that to me.
But, to clarify, if the cops have him on record as a gang member, he probably was in act, if not in fact.

Anahiem authorities cast a wide net, so to speak, in terms of who is a gang member and who is not.
Harassment of gangs members, gang-looking kids, and gang infested neighborhoods is part of the strategy of policing... keep them off-balance if possible, make arrests when you can. (from personal experience, I know this)
Almost always, the subjects are Mexicans, half-Mexicans, and/or wannabe Mexicans.
Why is this?
Why do you think?

It works like this:
Brown skin, shaved head, goatee, wearing a wife beater shirt with khaki pants... the cops will harass you, every time, on sight,... no matter what yer doing.
Brown skin, normal haircut, wearing a surfing-logo t-shirt, shorts and flip flops... the cops will never even see you.
Yet, the cops are charged with picking on anybody with brown skin.
No, just the ones who 'Act Brown'.
(Acting/being Brown is a thing here in SoCal among a certain underclass, akin to Acting Black among another American under class. You know it:  unless you are a loser, you are not legit...)

On the street: unless you have been 'jumped in' (look it up), you are not a member of the gang.
In real life policing: if you hang out with the homies, dress like the homies, do what the homies do, and all yer bestest buddies are homies....
you are...
 for the purposes of policing,...
a gang member.
This makes total sense to any thinking member of the law abiding community that is fed up with having their cars broken into, streets trashed, walls spray painted, their shit stolen.
Unfortunately for Anaheim, 'thinking' and 'Mexican' do not always go together within a certain ethnic subculture...

Anaheim used to be a predominately white, middle-working class town. A culturally diverse place that was not without it's issues, but was able to avoid some of the trashier and corrupt elements of nearby crime-ridden *Santa Ana.
It was a nice place to live and grow up in. All this started changing in the late 80's, early 90's.
When I moved to Anaheim in 1998, I was shocked to see my mailbox full of Spanish language advertising and junk mail.
I was still under the impression of five years previous that Anaheim was a cool, all-American place to live and raise a family.
A co-worker, born and raise in Anaheim, just laughed at me. (Where you been the last few years? LOLOLOLOL)

My kids went to a grade school where fully 1/2 of their assigned class was non-English proficient... and that was the bestest, most English-proficient class room available for them. No exaggeration... no bullshit.
I AM NOT KIDDING ON THIS!!!!

One teacher, a hard-working woman who I got to know well, had a class split into three parts: About 1/2 she could speak to/teach in English... another say... slightly less than a 1/3... was about 50-50. The rest, about 20%, were full on, Spanish only speakers.
This was one classroom, of about 30 kids.
It was also the most "English" classroom available for my kids... in the whole school.
Again: I AM NOT EXAGGERATING!!!!
You've got to believe me on this one.
I am NOT pulling bullshit on you.
These are the schools that I was required to enroll my children in.
OK?
No lie, here.

To make it worse: every kid enrolling in an Anaheim school had to have a fresh/current TB test. My kids were already subjected to TB testing, (it involves injections...) (standard with original... i.e. kindergarten, enrollment in any California school) but why did they need it again?
Because there are so many illegals crossing the border, and so many of these kids are infected with TB...
We need to check and have them treated before they infect the rest of us...
This was explained, mind you, by a young clerk at the school who spoke with a Spanish accent.
AGAIN: NO LIE!
Alright? I am not making this shit up.
Even the Mexicans understood that there was a Mexican problem...
that the federal government (Clinton and Bush, now Obama, and soon maybe Romney) did nothing about.

You wanna pour out your love on the illegals for whatever political reason you have, just know that there are real Americans who struggle daily with their presence, for no fault of their own.

Anaheim has had a Mexican problem, for years now, and it's only getting worse...
And I specifically call out Mexicans and not 'Latinos' here because these problems are not being generated by an excess population of Argentines and Costa Ricans.

Were it not for Mexicans, the crime rate of Anaheim would be cut by 90%. I say this, openly and honestly.
90%.
It is what it is.
90%!
And I'm being generous with this number...
Mexicans, in large concentrations, bring problems.
I accept this despite the fact that...
Throughout my life, my best friends have always been Mexicans (exception being that one Black guy facebook followers may be aware of...) who lived lives no different in style or substance from any ordinary, day to day American.
Most Mexicans are this way.
Yet, there is a lower-class sub-culture that comes from the other side of the border that cannot be filtered out with an open border, avert your eyes, see-no-evil immigration policy.
90%, and it's all brown.
Facts are what they are.

As is stands now, Anaheim is under real assault from some ethnic grievance groups (guess what nationality they are???).
I've seen this pattern of lawsuits before...
It's not about good governance at all.
It's about ethnic power brokers building a fiefdom.

These past several days of riots were the result of outside forces attempting a political maneuver... trying to build a case (and a situation) to bring before the court that Anaheim's Mexicans (who are largely illegal to begin with) are not being properly represented... spurring a left-wing judge to justify carving the city up into districts to ensure that the proper amount of the 'right kind' of Mexicans are elected to office.

Where ethnic politics thrives, there has always been corruption to the highest levels (thank you, Irish, for introducing this concept and corruption to America... FuckYouAll.)

If not stopped, Anaheim will become the next Santa Ana.
That will suck.


*Santa Ana is something like 90% Mexican, and getting more so by the day as the respectable people continue to flee... ridden with crime and corruption... often referred to as 'Stabba Ana' due it murder rate... has the lowest property values in Orange County... very few kids graduate from it's high schools (because the chicas get pregnant at 15, and the chicos are in jail by 16)... ethnic politics plays a large part in it's governance... it is seen as a province of Mexico by outsiders, and acts accordingly waaay too often.... Nothing that I've said here is an exaggeration. The place sucks. Santa Ana, for all purposes, is the 'South Central' of Orange County... and not because too many White people live there.

OK, I all but promised you all a post concerning the troubles of Anaheim... and it's in the works...
Bear with...
within 24 hours it will be here in all of it's politically incorrect, racially insensitive glory...
because I love that town...
my home town...
and only honesty will save it.

OK, it's almost Friday...

...and I'll have a post concerning Anaheim real soon.
I love that place.

Better Than A Party Bounce

<<< This is the world's tallest water slide. 135 feet, nearly straight down.
It's in Brazil, and called 'Insano' for a reason...

I was thinking maybe we could have something like this at the very first annual Grumpy Old Men meet up.

I nominate the brave and fearless King David to take the first fall, as sort of a Crash Test Dummy for the rest of us.
I'm sure he'd do it if we place a tray of bacon-wrapped kielbasa at the bottom.

Savages

Ben (a botanist) and Chon (former Special Forces/Mercenary), played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Taylor Kitsch,  are two best friends from high school who start their own marijuana growing/marketing business in 90s-era Laguna Beach, California.
They are making millions through their grow and distribution network until a Mexican cartel arrives with offer they cannot refuse...
Which they do.
This does not go over well.

So... we got this flower-sniffing hippie teamed up with a professional warrior taking on the most brutal of Mexican cartels for the  privalege of being independent and real...
While the two share the same girlfriend in every sense you can imagine.
This girlfriend (Blake Lively) narrates/voice overs the movie.

The girlfriend, "O" as she is known, sums up the two this way:
"Ben's philosophy is 'Don't fuck with anyone.'...  Chon's philosophy is 'Don't fuck with Ben'..."
Ben is idealistic,  Chon is the muscle,.. and they are dedicated to each other...
And to O.
Yes, this does get interesting...

Oliver Stone directs this one, starring a few names that matter though they should not: Benicio Del Toro and that chica from Desparado....  um... yeah, Salma Hayak.  Or is it Selma? Whatever... That's her. I was less than impressed with both stars, as well as the third name, John Travolta.
The problem is that their performances are not believable:
Instead of seeing see the Cartel Boss, the Enforcer, or the DEA Agent, the viewer gets to see Benicio, Salma and John overly dressed for these parts.
Give me a break. You're supposed to be 'the stars'. If all you're gonna do is mail it in, at least use sufficient postage.

It's the story that saves this endeavor. Lot's of action, violence, brutality, some sex... it's fairly intense. I liked it.
Go ahead and see it.