Shit that Pissed me Off This Week – 8/17

A bit of a slow week over here at Shit that Pissed Me Off HQ.  I should probably get worked into more of a froth about Paul Ryan but the guy just doesn’t interest me.  It’s like Mitt Romney was looking for someone with less of a personality than he has.

Yeah, yeah, I know that Ryan wants to get rid of Medicare and all that other garbage but when you look at the guy, don’t you seriously just think that they could put two mannequins on stage at the Republican convention and most of the delegates wouldn’t notice?

Ladies and Gentlemen! The Next President and Vice President of the United States!

I’m not saying the delegates are that stupid (although Michele Bachmann will be there so at least some of them are).  I’m just saying these guys could possibly constitute the most boring ticket in the history of Presidential elections (although Kerry/Lieberman is pretty close).

Anyway, on to shit that pissed me off!

Dumb-Ass shoots a security Guard at the Family Research Council

As only too many liberal groups are pointing out in the wake of this attack, I hate everything the Family Research Council stands for but violence is not the answer to the problem.  You don’t change minds with a senseless shooting. Nobody looked at this event and thought “hey – I’d better start supporting gay rights because if I don’t, some nutbar might shoot me.”  That didn’t happen.

Instead, all sorts of gay advocate groups had to quickly point out that this guy wasn’t with them and they didn’t support what he did.  Which should have been bloody obvious.

Turns out it wasn’t, though, because Family Research Council Tony Perkins blamed the Southern Poverty Law Center for the act.  Or rather, he said they should be “held responsible.”

Now, I’m guessing Mr. Perkins doesn’t think he should be held responsible when a gay kid gets beaten up in high school, does he?  Nor does he think he should be held responsible when people shout hateful things at a gay couple getting married in New York.  The double standard is pretty pathetic, don’t you think?

Ebay Bans Sales of Spells, Potions and Psychic Readings

Hang on….they’ve been allowing that?  What’s their refund policy?

This article specifically mentions Potions.  Are elixirs still OK?  What about philters?

Come on! You gotta admit the vial’s worth something!

And what if the spell requires a lock of my hair or something?  Do I have to pay for the shipping on that?

Most importantly, how is it that the psychics weren’t already aware this was coming?

Curiosity takes a picture of the alignment of Venus, Jupiter and Earth and it isn’t that big a deal

You guys!  Look at this picture!

It’s unbelievably cool, right?  That’s Venus, Jupiter and Earth all lined up and the picture is being taken from a different planet!!

Well, I mean it’d have to be taken from a different planet for Earth to be in the picture but you are missing the point.  The point is this:  why aren’t we all just looking at that picture all the damn time???

Paul Ryan is not as interesting as this picture!

The Olympics are not as interesting as this picture!

Mitt Romney is not as interesting as any single pixel in this picture!

Yeah…it’s been a slow week for Shit that Pissed me off.  Why do you ask?

Update: This was apparently produced by astronomy software and not by Mars Curiosity.  Makes it slightly less cool but I still like the picture and think it is more interesting than Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney.

Megadeath Front Man Says Obama Staged Aurora Shooting

My friends, we all need to remember one thing in the wake of this comment: most rock stars are kind of loopy.

I don’t know if it’s the easy access to drugs, the endless parade of hot groupies (male and female) who will happily have sex with you no matter how old you get or how infrequently you wash your hair or thousands of screaming people who make you think they care about what you say into a microphone beyond “thank you Cleveland,” being a rock star goes to your head.

And then you start saying stupid shit.  In public.  Like suggesting that Obama would manufacture massacres to push a gun control agenda.  And the hot groupies still want to have sex with you!

Tell us how Obama’s birth certificate is fake again!

It’s a vicious cycle, people!

In Kentucky, They are Lying about Evolution to get Intelligent Design into Schools

Why are they doing this?  State Senator David Givens says:

we don’t want what is a theory to be taught as a fact in such a way it may damage students’ ability to do critical thinking

Translation: “I don’t understand what scientists mean when they use the word ‘theory.'”

Also, “by ‘critical thinking’, I mean willingness to ignore any scientific finding that runs counter to what my pastor tells me is the truth.”

Bed Waide, State Representative says:

The theory of evolution is a theory, and essentially the theory of evolution is not science — Darwin made it up…the theory of evolution has never stood up to scientific scrutiny.

Translation: “I don’t actually understand what people mean when they say ‘scientific scrutiny.'”

I realize these foolish gentlemen aren’t the only people in Kentucky and there are a lot of reasonable, intelligent people who live there.  I’m hoping those people start working on ways to ensure these guys have less influence on what the children of Kentucky are being taught.

Russian Punk Band Guilty of Hooliganism because they Criticized Putin in a Church

Hey, the name of the band is Pussy Riot so I don’t think anyone should be surprised they were looking for some attention.

In this case, they went into a cathedral and sang an offensive song.  They’ll be going to jail for two years because they “intended to insult the Russian Orthodox Church and undermine public order.”

I’m not going to argue that their act of protest was a good idea.  I think it was misguided as that kind of protest rarely steers anyone to your way of thinking.  In fact, it typically does the opposite.  I suppose it probably helped record sales…

I do think, however, that two years in jail seems like a ridiculous sentence.  A fine, maybe?

The Russian Orthodox Church seems to be doing all right.  How much damage do they think this particular act caused?  I mean aside from embarrassment?  Which most people can get the fuck over.

I have to worry about any system of laws that results in imprisonment for intent to insult the Church.  The next time the Christian Right argues they are under attack in this country, someone should ask them if they feel they deserve this kind of legal protection.  If they say “yes,” the response should be “and that is why you are under attack.”

P.S:  Here’s a video of the protest in question.  So…two years in jail for this?