Shit that Pissed me Off This Week – 8/9

This is actually two week’s worth of stuff and it is still pretty short.  I guess that the mild summer is taking a toll on people acting like crazy idiots.  Not all of them, though.

Guy Blew up a Dog But he’s not Going to be Charged With Killing the Dog

Now let’s be clear – this guy is completely nuts. He blew up a dog because he believed it was possessed.  Normal people don’t have a tendency to do that sort of thing.

He’s charged with possession of explosives but not with animal cruelty.

In some places, this means the same thing as “beware of the dog.”

Why not?

Because the dog died instantaneously and therefore did not experience any pain.

Now look, the guy needs to go a mental institution because he’s pretty clearly fucked up.  Animal cruelty or no animal cruelty, he’s quite a few bullets short of a loaded gun.

You have to wonder about a law, though, that won’t allow you to charge someone with animal cruelty when you blow the animal up.  Pain or no pain, that seems like a pretty cruel thing to do, doesn’t it?

Asshole Neighbors threatening Legal Action over a Handicapped Ramp

All right, let’s be clear here – there are certain things that you can complain about when it comes to your neighbor’s yard.  I, for instance, have a tree that is hanging over the alley.  It needs to be trimmed in the worst way.  Every tree trimmer we have called is still working on storm damage but we’ll get it trimmed.

If someone complained about it, I would totally understand.

On the other hand, complaining that you don’t like the look of a handicapped ramp is the sort of thing assholes do.  Don’t like the way it looks?

How about you thank your lucky stars that you don’t have debilitating cerebral palsy and then look at it again?

Still don’t like the way it looks?

Close the blinds.  Problem solved.

The President is Criticized for Going the Wrong Place on Vacation

In the midst of budget cuts caused by the Sequester – Republicans are saying that the President is sending a bad message by vacationing at Marth’s vineyard.

I’m just wondering where he should go?   A Motel 6?

Six Flags?

Is it OK to take the kids mini golfing if there are two-for-one coupons?

The guy is the President of the United States.  He doesn’t get a real vacation.  If he’s lucky, when he’s on “vacation,” he’ll get a couple hours off a day.  So rather than finding fault with everything he does because he’s a Democrat and you are a Republican, how about you focus on the issues that divide you?  Would that be such a stretch?

Yeah.  It would be.  I know.

 Missouri State Representative is Suing the Federal Government Because they want to Provide him with Birth Control

He says that if he has access to birth control under the Affordable Care act, it violates his religious freedom.  Because he’s Catholic and birth control runs counter to his faith.

So…um…no.  This isn’t the onion.  I checked. The guy really thinks it violates his religious freedom if anyone can have birth control covered by their insurance.  Not just him.  ANYONE.

The thing that I find so puzzling is how these people manage to twist the meaning of religious freedom to the point it isn’t even recognizable.  This guy is free to think the pill is the tool of the devil. Nobody is stopping him.  He isn’t free to prevent other people from using that tool.  That isn’t religious freedom.

It is religious oppression.  If he has trouble understanding the difference, I’m sure there are a lot of atheists in Saudi Arabia who could explain it to him.

If they weren’t in jail.

The Skeptic Community is Having a bit of a Problem with Harassment

The problem, it seems, is that when people claim they have been harassed, people start harassing them.  It seems there is an inherent interest in denying harassment and further in shaming the person who had the nerve to bring it up in the first place.

You know why abused women have trouble speaking up?  Because when they do, they are subjected to more abuse.

Before one starts heaping abuse on someone who makes such claims, one should ask what they have to gain from going public.  Attention?  I guess.  But most of the attention sucks!

Clearly this is all anyone who makes claims of harassment wants

There are false claims of harassment and abuse out there.  I know of one person who has made such claims.  She makes it a little worse for the vast majority of people who are telling the truth.

But you know who makes it a lot worse?

The rest of us.

Same-Sex Marriage is Legal and my Marriage seems Just fine

I really don’t get it.  I thought my traditional marriage was going to be ruined the moment that homosexuals could be legally married in my state.

I’ve been waiting a couple of weeks now and everything seems fine.

Is it possible that all the talk about ruining traditional marriages was some sort of scare tactic???

Robin Thicke “Blurred Lines”

Lately I can’t seem to get away from this song and boy do I wish I could.  I warn that if you click on the link, the video is one of the most NSFW music videos I’ve ever seen.

So the song is awful and also popular.  I once switched stations and it was playing on three of them. That is annoying enough.

But the story of the song is what really bugs me.  Basically, there’s a guy who wants to have sex with a girl.  That happens a lot so I’m not complaining yet.  There is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to have sex.

Then he points out that she’s a good girl but she wants sex anyway.

So…um…why is it that only bad girls like sex, exactly?  If they are playing this song on pop radio, teenage girls are listening, right?  Is it a good thing that they are listening to a song that tells them sex is “nasty” and “bad?”

I know, this isn’t the first song to tell young women that wanting sex makes them a bad girl.  I don’t imagine “sex is healthy and fun but use protection” songs sell too well.

It sure would be nice if there were fewer songs like this one, though.

Oh, and the video is about as misogynistic as they come.  So there’s that.