Shit that Pissed Me Off This Week – 6/14

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is Off the Rails

Kennedy has long been an Anti-Vaccine crusader and I dislike the anti-vaxx movement with only slightly less zeal than the creationist movement.

I have two children on the autism spectrum. They were both vaccinated and I know two things:

1)  Vaccinating my kids did not make them autistic

2)  Even if it did (and it didn’t), I would rather have autistic children than children with Smallpox or Polio

You think this guy was happy he wasn’t vaccinated?

Kennedy and others like him have been pushing misinformation and, as this article proves, they are willing to name names.  They people they name, however, never actually said what they are claimed to have said.  Nor do the studies they cite actually say what they claim those studies say.

So all he is doing is engaging in character of assassination.

I get that big pharma is theoretically evil but here’s the thing – vaccines are not.  Yes, pharmaceutical companies make money off vaccines.  I guess that’s a price I’m willing to pay to ensure that my kids don’t get the measles.

Claiming vaccines cause autism is to make the claim that you understand a shitload more about autism than all the folks out there researching the condition.

And in the meantime, making people afraid of vaccines is contributing to the rise of diseases we thought had been eradicated.  That’s what I call a lose-lose.

GOP Strategist Calls an MSNBC reporter an Unfit Parent Because Homophobia

So Krystal Ball just had a baby and a particularly horrible GOP strategist believes she should not be allowed to keep her children because there is video showing her having a conversation with her daughter in which she says that families with two mommies or two daddies exist.

Here’s the thing – this guy is nobody.  Almost no-one gives a fuck what he has to say.

But when people argue that they aren’t bigots and homophobes and they stand with assholes like this one, they lose all credibility.  You can’t say “I’m not like that guy because I don’t hate gay people” when you and that guy stand for exactly the same thing.

Supreme Court Rules You Can’t Patent a Human Gene

The ruling doesn’t piss me off.  I mean, it sounds like a pretty idiotic argument that you could patent something just because you found it first.

Given this ruling was unanimous, it seems pretty clear that calling dibs on a human gene didn’t manage to convince anyone.  Clarence Thomas, who has never met a corporation whose every act was, he felt,  protected by the constitution, wrote the decision for goodness’ sake.

What really pisses me off is that this case actually made it all the way to the Supreme Court.  Why would this be a debate to begin with?  Why would a company say “hey – we isolated a gene that causes breast cancer, let’s patent it” and not “hey – we isolated a gene that causes breast cancer, let’s use that information to find a cure and patent that?”

We discovered the gene that causes baldness! That means everyone who is going bald has to pay us royalties!

But you know, capitalism is all about making money off the stuff you do.  And that means you want to be the only company that makes money off the stuff you do.  Even if all you do is find something first.

Mexican-American Boy Sings the National Anthem at the NBA Finals and Racists Lose their Shit

So let me be clear – the kid is a Mexican American.  Born in America.  Like a lot of other Hispanics who aren’t illegal aliens.

That means he, like almost every other fucking person in the United states, is descended from someone who wasn’t born in the United States.

This dude used to be an English citizen!

Anti Immigrant fervor is so high, though, that a lot of people look at a ten-year old hispanic kid and figure that he is taking the job of singing the national anthem away from qualified American singers.

You know, like Celine Dion.  Or Alanis Morissete.

Texas Governor Rick Perry Says Americans Have no Right to Freedom From Religion

So Perry was signing a bill into law that allows people to say “Merry Christmas” in schools.

Which is a right they already had.  You can wish someone a Merry Christmas without violating the separation of church and state.

But for Perry, this strikes a blow for freedom of religion.  Christians, as you know, are the persecuted majority in this country and they are constantly being prevented from engaging in religious expression on public property.  Or sure, they can do it in church, at the mall, in their homes and even at a professional sporting event.

However, they want to do it everywhere.  They want to make sure that religion is everywhere they want to be.

That’s all fine unless their version of the constitution (that doesn’t mesh with the original intent but fuck that) actually becomes law when they get enough members of the religious right on the supreme court.  Oh sure, they can have a big old field day putting up ten commandment monuments in government building for a while but what happens if another religion becomes the majority?

They will be screwed.

They haven’t the slightest idea how much the separation of church and state protects them.

And it is pretty clear they don’t care.

Bill Maher Blows Comedy

Bill Maher has no love for Sarah Palin.  I’m cool with that because I don’t like her either.

However, I think you need to be a pretty serious jerk to decide that it’d be in good fun to rip on her child with Downs’ Syndrome.  What did that kid do aside from having Palin as a mother?

It isn’t his fault she’s awful.

I’m not talking here about whether or not it is right to make fun of a handicapped person.  Rather, I’m talking about whether or not it is a good idea to make fun of the child of someone you don’t like as a way to make fun of the person you don’t like.  That’s not being a comedian, it’s being an asshole.

Pauley Shore is neither a comedian OR an asshole.

If people make fun of Obama’s kids, that is shitty. His daughters didn’t decide to have their father as a President.  As a public figure, Obama is a fair target for any comedian.

His kids, however, didn’t choose this gig and they should be left alone.

So should Palin’s until such a time as they choose to make themselves public figures.

So that means Bristol is totally fair game.

Rumors have Disney World Overhauling Hollywood Studios

As a big fan of Disney, I’m OK with this basic concept.

However, there is talk of adding a Star Wars land and eliminating either Muppet Vision 3D or the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular.

Either move would be completely unacceptable.

Muppet Vision 3D is, quite simply, one of the best experiences in any Disney park.  This is not open to debate.  If you don’t enjoy it, there is no joy in your heart and you don’t deserve to spend time in that magical place.

The Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular is THE INDIANA JONES STUNT SPECTACULAR.

Did someone at Disney forget the definition of awesome?  We are talking about a STUNT SHOW featuring INDIANA JONES in which they BLOW UP A FUCKING PLANE!!!!

Yes, these are just rumors.  They could be completely unfounded.

Or Disney could be ditching two of the best attractions they have ever created (again – this is not up for debate) in favor of a Star Wars land that could be cool as hell but will probably feature way too much crap from the prequels.

And by “way too much crap from the prequels,” I mean “stuff that acknowledges the prequels exist.”

If any rumor surfaces that they are thinking of shutting down the Tower of Terror, I shall take to the internet with a flurry of angry tweets the likes of which the world has never known.