Shit that Pissed me Off – 6/3
Donald Trump Says There is not Drought in California
Even though California has been suffering through a worsening drought over the last few years, Donald Trump has been assuring farmers that there is plenty of water and when he’s President, he’ll make sure they get it.
I know that it is easy to say that Trump is just a politician making hollow promises but let’s remember that Trump believes global climate change is a hoax. Not wrong. A hoax.
So when he starts spouting conspiracy theories about the California water supply, it is entirely likely that he believes them. He believes that the drought isn’t really happening and it is just liberal, tree-hugging politicians who are to blame for the fact California farmers can’t water their crops.
This photo making it look like Lake Mead is at 40% of capacity is clearly created with gigantic mirrors.
And the more evidence he is shown to the contrary, the more likely he is to believe it is all a big fucking conspiracy.
This guy is going to be the Republican nominee for President. His party is going to stand behind him because they have no choice.
And that ought to scare the hell out of everyone.
Shit that Pissed me off – 5/6
Fox News Commenters Make Racist Statements in a Story about Malia Obama’s Choice of College
I know. Reading comments is always a bad idea. In this case, Fox turned them off after a whole lot of racist assholes turned up to share their thoughts regarding what was basically a harmless story about a young woman’s college choice. Unfortunately for her, she is young black woman.
Being black in this “post-racial” society means that you are going to have racist epithets thrown at you by a bunch of internet ignoramuses for having the temerity to exist.
Fox was smart to turn off the comments. However, they need to recognize that they invite this kind of commentary. It is their own personality that helps encourage people to be racist fucks on the internet.
Malia Obama will be fine. She has been the target for this kind of language since her father became a legitimate Presidential candidate and while I’m certain her parents have protected her from the worst of it, there is no way they could protect her from all of it.
There’s just too much.
Thing is, as long as Fox news keeps insisting we live in a post racial society but has to shut down comments on an article about a young black woman, I will continue to wonder why anyone takes them seriously.
Shit that Pissed me Off – 4/29
Oklahoma House Moves to Ban All Abortions
In another move meant to remind us how important control of the Supreme Court has become, Oklahoma appears poised to test exactly how far you can go in the control of women’s health decisions.
The state governor has not yet decided whether or not to sign this bill, which goes so far as to tell the state medical board which doctors they can certify.
Rather than targeting the mothers, this law rewards doctors who perform abortions with felony charges. Even if the abortion is required to save the life of the mother.
Bad things happen when you put doctors in handcuffs.
More and more, it becomes clear that lawmakers on one side of the issue are far more concerned about the next generation than the current one. Unless we are talking about global climate change. Or overpopulation. Or pollution.
Then the needs (or wants) of this generation are far more important.
Unless, of course, they need to go to the bathroom.
Shit that Pissed me Off – 4/14
Racist Gun Shop Owner Vandalizes Car of Bernie Sanders Supporter
The dude sells bumper stickers that read “MFZ,” which stands for “Muslim Free Zone.” Clever fucker, ain’t he?
So he sees that he doesn’t like that some lady he doesn’t know supports a candidate he doesn’t like. The obvious solution would be to leave her alone. Because it’s not his car and therefore he shouldn’t be putting his bumper stickers anywhere but on – you know – his car.
Instead, he puts his stickers on her car and then brags about it on Facebook.
Now what he did is vandalism and that means he really ought to be arrested and at least fined. That may still happen.
Although it is unlikely there will be any riot gear involved in making the arrest.
The other thing that happened is the owner of the car found his post and told him he was an asshole. Fortunately, he knew a whole bunch of other assholes who leapt to his defense and trolled the shit out of her.
So it’s all a big happy ending, right?
He got to be an asshole. At the moment, he isn’t going to jail or paying a fine for fucking up her car. And all his asshole friends think he’s awesome.
I’m losing my faith in humanity.
Shit that Pissed me Off – 4/1
Japanese Whalers Killed 200 Pregnant Whales
So the Japanese are still whaling in the name of “legitimate research.” They headed off for their yearly kill of Minke whales and, among the 333 whales they were permitted to kill, they managed to bag 200 pregnant females.
To be fair – when you are killing a whale, you can’t tell if it is a pregnant female. I’m sure if they had known that almost 2/3 of the whales they were killing were pregnant, they would have killed them anyway.
Is this whale pregnant? Who cares????
The excuse they give is that they are researching the breeding habits of whales or some other bullshit that basically comes down to “fuck you, rest of the world, we just want to kill whales.”
I don’t get it. I really don’t. All this bullshit to keep the members of four whaling vessels employed.
If they can’t find any other jobs for these guys, Trump could probably use some help building a wall. I don’t think he has any problems with the Japanese.
Oh. Um….never mind….
Shit that Pissed me Off – 3/25
Microsoft Hired a Bunch of Models in Skimpy Schoolgirl Outfits for an Industry Party
Before I go on my traditional mini rant, let me begin by saying the head of Xbox games, who sponsored the party, and the head of Microsoft both came out saying, in effect, “holy shit was that a horrible decision and we feel like complete assholes and while we can’t actually say we are going to fire whoever put this party together, we are totally going to fire whoever put this party together.”
So I don’t want to pile too much abuse on a company that seems to recognize how stupid it was to host a women in gaming panel on the same day they hired some sexy Catholic schoolgirls to encourage gamer nerds to dance.
I will, however, heap abuse on whoever actually decided to hire the sexy Catholic schoolgirls.
Because what in the hell were they thinking? In a time when their industry is under heavy fire for not really giving a shit about women gamers, they decided it’d be a good time to blatantly not give a shit about women gamers.
I did a Google search for “woman gamer” and found this image. The internet is a strange and wonderful place.
They could have hired ripped dudes to dress up as Italian plumbers for a little gender balance and it still would have been a dumb PR move but probably wouldn’t have resulted in quite the uproar they are currently experiencing.
I realize the return on investment may have seemed lower given gaming is still very much a male dominated industry but when you are throwing thousands of dollars at a dance party for gamers, you may have already been making poor investment choices.
Maybe if it had been a Dance Dance Revolution party for gamers…
PS: After reading this article, I do think it’s important to address the dancers. They were doing a job for which they were hired. There is nothing wrong with that.
Shit that Pissed me off – 3/18
Reporter Arrested at Trump Rally For…Doing his Job
This is the kind of thing that happens when your front-runner is a racist asshole*. Thing start to get out of hand.
Am I happy that counter protests turned violent at a Trump rally this week? No. I don’t know if anyone knows who threw the first punch but the point is that nonviolent protest should, ideally, remain nonviolent.
As soon as things get violent, it doesn’t matter who started it. People get hurt.
Note also some of the things that Trump supporters have shouted at this Reporter, who is Indian. Things like “Go Back to Iraq!”
It is possible that the statement was misinterpreted and he was being courted by a travel agent.
Trump is the kind of polarizing figure who tells people it is OK to judge people because their skin is the wrong color. He tells people it is OK to punch someone because they don’t like what Trump has to say.
And look – I know the Republican party is freaking out over the possibility of Trump being their flag bearer but they need to realize that they created this monster. The rhetoric of their party that includes people talking about “legitimate rape” and “religious freedom” is a rhetoric of intolerance that completely undermines any rhetoric about smaller government.
This guy is dangerous. And so are his followers.
Shit that Pissed me off – 3/11
Donald Trump Thinks Islam Hates Us
Trump is like an improvisational comedian who isn’t funny. Any time he says something outrageous, he gets called on it. Instead of clarifying his statement, he simply says “Yes, I totally meant that, AND…”
Then he says something even worse. It would be hilarious were it not for the thousands of people who hang on his every word and totally believe everything he says.
Today, I’m going to say that Barak Obama is a martian!
Does Islam hate us? No. But I guarantee you that the fact Trump has said exactly that and has stood behind the statement is all some of his supporters need to believe something that stupid.
Why, this week a man punched a protester being escorted out of a Trump rally and later said “the next time we see him, we may have to kill him.” He assumed that since the guy was black, he was also probably Muslim and, therefore, ISIS. Was this a by-product of Trump having said he’d like to punch a protestor in the face?
Maybe.
What is truly insane is the idea that people think Trump will make America great again. He’s already made America worse.
Shit That Pissed me Off – 3/4
Cheryl Tiegs Thinks a Plus Sized Model is “Unhealthy”
I don’t know what is more bothersome, the fact Tiegs chose to say this at all or the fact she supported her claim by saying she heard it from Dr. Oz. You know – the same Dr. Oz who regularly supports miracle cures and herbal remedies that don’t work.
He seems like the definitive source to use when discussing a healthy weight. Or health in general.
Speaking as a diabetic, I am well aware that excess weight can be unhealthy. I understand that while fat shaming is a thing and needs to be avoided, there is also a need to talk about the fact that weighing too much can be unhealthy.
Not that I would suggest for a even moment that her weight comes anywhere close to qualifying as “too much.”
But the amount of weight Tiegs carries around (not very much) can also be unhealthy.
When a public figure starts talking about who weighs too much, it makes a difference. Especially to young women who are being told all sorts of things about what their body should look like.
Now I personally don’t have a problem with my doctor telling me I could stand to lose a few pounds because he knows my medical history and makes recommendations meant to improve my overall health. If Cheryl Tiegs showed up and started to talk to me about how much weight I needed to lose, I’d be less inclined to give a shit.
So please, Cheryl, shut up about what other women should weigh. Leave that kind of unsolicited medical advice to Dr. Oz.
Shit that Pissed me Off – 2/26
John Kasich, the “Moderate” Republican, Just Defunded Planned Parenthood in Ohio
The bill he signed didn’t specifically defund Planned Parenthood. No. That would be too obvious.
It just said public funds will not go to any provider of health services that also provides abortions. Like – you know – Planned Parenthood.
Don’t worry, though! The funds that are no longer going to Planned Parenthood (and other abortion providers but mostly Planned Parenthood) will now go to other clinics that provide health services for women, HIV testing, and other services that Planned Parenthood was doing a great job providing.
Republicans like to say that they support women’s health (as John Oliver pointed out this week), but it really feels like it is “the health of women who choose not to terminate their pregnancy.”
You, young lady, are welcome to all the medical assistance you can afford! Because we aren’t going to pay for it. That’s socialism.
Because if you want to terminate a pregnancy for any reason, your health no longer seems to be a concern. The hate focused squarely on Planned Parenthood (but really it isn’t just Planned Parenthood guys) has everything to do with demonizing an organization that has the balls to perform a legal medical procedure without being ashamed about it.
So while Kasich tries to convince you that he’s a moderate, just remember that he hates Planned Parenthood (seriously – it’s not just Planned Parenthood) just as much as the next Republican Presidential candidate.
He also understands Planned Parenthood just as much as the next Republican Presidential candidate.
Grail Diary 