Our education system feels that it's being honest when it points out the flaws of our Founding Fathers but it also seems to gloss over the flaws of our modern leaders. We criticize those we disagree with but we give a pass to those we like. It's human to do that. But it isn't right. Bush was "evil" for taking our liberties but Obama didn't return those liberties and he's taken more. So why isn't Obama considered evil and why hasn't our media demonized him? Why can't he get any credit for what he does right because the media is so busy harping about what they disagree with?

Bias of the favorable sort. I don't like bias because I like justice. Sometimes it's right to give someone the benefit of the doubt but the only difference I see between Bush and Obama is a) skin color and b) which extreme they pander to. They've both got goofy ears and a penchant for saying stupid things - only Obama pronounces his flubs correctly. So is Obama receiving a pass for being black or for being a Leftist? A bit of both, in my opinion, and neither is right.

He's a liar. He made a lot of promises on the campaign trail and few has survived even his first year in office. But a lot of people still put stock in his words. I don't understand. Someone please explain their support for him to me! What has he done to make you trust him?

Our government should answer dissent, not crush or dismiss it. Do not support a government that silences objections through misdirection and exclusion. When it's done putting down your "enemies" it will turn on whoever steps out of line next and because human nature is one of contradiction even those who agree with the ruling powers aren't safe!

Limit your government or be limited by it.

I have difficulty acting as an advocate for myself but I have no trouble standing up for others. This has been a summer of stretching for me and I've been drinking deeply from the Cup of Frustration. I've also found that I'm a glutton when it comes to punishment. As much as I'd like to turtle and pull away, trouble is coming to me and staying on my heels.

And so it's time to stand up for myself. I loathe confrontation so the very fact that I'm being moved to confront should indicate how sick I am of being hounded by various people and problems. This dog has done his best to remain peaceful and sleepy but all the ceaseless tugging on the fur has moved past "old" to "see these teeth? They're going to be in your butt soon."

I think healthcare "reform" has a lot of Americans showing their teeth. They're getting labeled as "rabid" but what they're really trying to indicate is that they're upset. My dog loved me but when I'd annoy her she'd eventually give me a nip on the nose - even in lashing out she her response was measured. I think Americans are at the measured response stage. The biting stage will come next if their warning signs aren't heeded and if the government doesn't respond with its belly but with its teeth there's going to be a fight and one side is definately getting mauled before all is said and done.

I'd rather it not come to that. Like I said, I'm not big on confrontation. It bothers me that I'm being pushed out of my daily routine and feeling forced to respond to a government that's unresponsive to the desires of its people. Obama's promise to be a uniter has proved false. He and Congress are doing exactly what they denounced the Republicans for doing under Bush. It's very partisan. I'm amazed that they can wonder at Republicans for not going along with blatantly far-left ideals and proposals - they're pretty much asking Republicans to commit political suicide.

And trust me when I say that Republicans did a fine job of that on their own by not remember what "conservative" really means.

I'm left with this tiresome feeling of anxiety and frustration at not being able to act or escape. I believe that God is asking me to wait and to sit within this suffering. Unpleasant as it is, I'll grow from this. I'm curious what He's setting me up for. The last time I thought I'd lost everything but received nearly everything instead - so what will the future hold? The current metamorphasis will not be hatching a cute butterfly but rather something spikey and purposefully aggressive.

A winged dog? Prepare the Butts of Injustice for a mauling!

As per Eowyn's request, here are the "classic" Dr. Nice, Evil Genius posts, his short-lived advice column, and the original post he appeared in.

http://jj-ames.xanga.com/500926659/nightmare/
http://jj-ames.xanga.com/514229616/advice-you-probably-should-disregard/
http://jj-ames.xanga.com/514751048/three-more-people-seeking-answers-in-all-the-wrong-places/
http://jj-ames.xanga.com/517918906/adventures-on-the-4th-floor-limited-dr-nice-edition/
http://jj-ames.xanga.com/527064948/the-return-of-timmy/
http://jj-ames.xanga.com/528332736/enter-tiffany/
http://jj-ames.xanga.com/529203226/timmy-v-tiffany/
http://jj-ames.xanga.com/536372494/the-very-long-dr-nice-episode/
http://jj-ames.xanga.com/537505246/dr-nice-again/
http://jj-ames.xanga.com/600919683/the-return-of-dr-nice/
http://jj-ames.xanga.com/627460325/the-return-of-dr-nice-evil-genius/

I've noticed that when angry or upset I clench my jaw very tightly for a long, long time. I've found my jaw aching a great deal this summer which is odd. I usually have an easier time rolling with things. Maybe it's because I feel unusually powerless to accomplish change or find vindication. Ultimately I know these difficulties only toughen my resolve and soften my heart to the plight of others but my teeth are set on edge by the bitterness of this medicine nonetheless.

On a brighter note, I keep losing at Scrabble but I also keep introducing new words to my friends. Today "Thane" was introduced - Scottish lord, yo.

Today I'll be introducing a new segment - Dr. Nice, Evil Genius rates some bands he never listens to. The ratings will be on a 1 to 10 scale, 1 representing our opinion of Congress and 10 representing the medicinal power of Jesus' spit in your eyes. There will be three categories for each of the five bands reviewed and then a commentary by Dr. Nice, Evil Genius (he makes me write that every freaking time).

Victim...Band One: The All American Rejects.
Sound: 7 "Meh" was all I could get out of him.
Lyrics: 5 "Hrmph"
Overall: 6.5
Verdict: Above Average but nothing to write home about.
Dr. Nice, Evil Genius sayz "First off, spell correctly. Secondly, if I wanted to listen to a bunch of songs about broken relationships and dating people you shouldn't have I'd punish my ears with country. Thirdly, get a haircut and shave you filthy mongrels."

Victim Two (who are we kidding; they're victims, not bands) As I Lay Dying
Sound: 10 "The angelic choir covers their songs"
Lyrics: 10 "Prophetic - your brain will literally travel forward in time and bring back a flying skateboard just to mock you for not being able to time travel with it."
Verdict: "Very Metal" which I think means "I approve"
Dr. Nice, Evil Genius says: "A very talented band with a sound that almost kicks as much hind as I do - and I'm the world's leading exporter of ass-kicking. When men are dust, sorry about that folks, the Message will remain."

Victim Three: Audio Adrenaline
Sound: 7 "Lacks any sort of balls - which is to say it's stereotypically Christan."
Lyrics: 8 "Says unpopular things that require balls or my brand of crazy - the former is atypically Christan and the latter cures brain cancer by blowing off heads with lasers. My apologies to the orphanage down the street - the sharks swore up and down that fins couldn't pull triggers so safeties were pointless."
Verdict: "House Plant Song."
Dr. Nice, Evil Genius says: "Like good apocalyptic plague, these guys never stay down. This will all make sense in about a week...again, very sorry."

Victim Four: Avenged Seven Fold
Sound: 6 "Feels like musical ADD - and seeing as I hang out with this idiot I know ADD. No, Timmy, I was talking about Ames. You're the idiot I can't escape."
Lyrics: 3 "If Tiffany discovers the song about the killing of unwilling marriage partners for the purposes of undead, eternal marriage I am very, very screwed. Speaking of which, I need to erase all your memories so she can't torture that information out of you. She can smell your tight lips and that isn't only a product of her standing uncomfortably close. Have I mentioned she's my love-crazed stalker? Timmy, stop eating paint."
Verdict: "Neither I nor the dufus typing this were impressed - and it takes nothing to impress him. He nearly proposed to a girl who said she thought GI Joe was the best cartoon of the 1980's. Those are the kind of standards that'd make green cards pointless because they'd be handed out like candy."
Dr. Nice, Stupid Jackass says: "I can see you typing that. And yet you aren't erasing it - it's a good thing you've got balls because that might make up for your lack of a head in the near future. I kid of course - you need your head. Which is entirely the opposite of this cd - unless you're in need of overpriced coasters."

Final Execution for the evening: Blindside
Sound: 8 "When they're metal they're excellent. When they're not metal they're...pedestrian. I think I'm going to vomit."
Lyrics: 9 "Deep waters are wasted on children in floaty-wings. Can you swim? 'Silence' will test your lungs."
Verdict: Approval "Delightfully dark and yet not in a whining or shallow manner."
Dr. Nice, Passive-Aggressive Genius says: "I think I hear Tiffany."

Depending on how well received Dr. Nice's critiques are, there may be more in the near future.

Xanga - therapy for the therapist. Seeing as therapy, in my estimation, is best when the problems are talked about, that's what I'm going to do.

Apparently I didn't graduate from my Masters program - despite having walked and nobody mentioning anything to me about, well, not graduating. Today I got a call from the doctoral program I've been jumping hoops for over the past two months going "Well, we had you on the fast track but there's an F on your transcript and you didn't earn a degree" and I said "Hoozajiggawhatnow?"

Yes, a professor decided to flunk me and not bother telling anyone but the registrar about it. Said professor even greeted me at the graduation ceremony. I'd like to add that at the beginning of said course she said it was pretty much impossible to fail without trying.

I don't remember trying to fail. I do remember thinking her course was painfully boring and a waste of my time but I don't remember actively trying to sabotague a class required for my graduation which, at the time, was only 90 days away. But let me tell you, I totally should have blown two years of work by purposefully screwing myself because at least them I would have seen it coming instead of making an ass of myself and wasting three months trying to keep a doctoral program interested while juggling all the other drama and BS that's been falling into my lap lately.

I'm very frustrated, exasperated, and surprised in the crappiest of fashions. I'm glad I shilled out premium cash to a "premium" school to get treated like a number - a number their computer system "lost" at least twice a semester for two years. I'm not a saint in all this but I'm sure as hell getting a demon's deal.

My iTunes decided to commit suicide over the weekend. Blew it's brains all over the...nothingness. All my playlists, all my ratings, and any memory of anything beyond its existence, poof! I don't have the foggiest idea why it chose now to frag itself but I can tell you what I know - cigarettes didn't kill that hooker.

Feel free to scratch your head over that one - or get the reference and move on. Either way, I'm laughing like a maniac in a tickle-fight.

Half-past five in the morning - I've only got about three more hours to kill before I drag my car over for emissions testing so they can tell me my well-maintained and not even half a decade old car isn't going to need work done. I love wasting my time so some jackass can get reelected on a green ticket! I'm totally not polluting the atmosphere for no reason by having to drag myself away from home JUST to confirm something a man with a severe head injury could probably guess.

"Um...how many cars are there? Just one? It's tiny, right? I'm not just imagining a clown car with some demon leaning out the window, screaming at me with the blackest flames of hell falling from his jagged teeth? You're the demon? Oh, you're human and I'm just seeing things because you hit me in the head with your car? Yeah - probably doesn't need to be tested."

I'm a bit exasperated by politics and all the blatant lying that's been going on. They've grown so arrogant that they not even bothering to come up with plausible lies anymore. If you point out how obvious their lie is they'll just label you and let the trusting shout you down. You wouldn't think that READING would be an issue in our highest offices but Congress is apparently so sorely pressed to hide all the dead hookers that they can't be bothered with such laborious tasks as doing their fucking jobs.

Did Mattel sneak in and replace all of Congress with life-sized replicas that use Barbie's "Math is hard!" line when confronted with anything that isn't pink, fashion, or puppies? Do you ever get the feeling we're in a touching drama about a bunch of retarded children who dreamed the dream of political success and through the power of their big hearts and the cuteness of their efforts won our hearts and their offices? When they learn to put on "big boy pants" are we going to clap for them or begin weeping because on average a retard can fool most Americans into voting for them twice (if not even more than that...).

My new theory on global warming is that every time politicians lie their mouths emit noxious fumes that kill brain cells, strangle puppies, and punch holes in the atmosphere.

On a similar note, a blood-sucking parasite bit my elbow the other night and now I have a painful and itchy bump there.

Speaking of blood-sucking parasites causing me pain, Rod Suckshardavich is certainly cashing in on being a corrupt piece of shit. Apparently getting caught with your hand in the cookie jar is now how you get cookies. He's getting paid to make all sorts of appearances and speeches. Is my problem that I'm not an idiot? Is being an arrogant jackass how people get paid in America? a) Why isn't that douchebag rotting in prison already and b) what sort of amoral turtle molesters pay a criminal to worship himself? I know America is fond of clowns, we elect enough of them, but when the clowns...wait, wait - I'm attempting to apply logic to the absurd.

Someday I hope to present a bill to Congress that looks awesome but is really, really hard to understand for the first 50 pages and then fill the rest with hundreds of pages of me making ridiculous things law. Here are ten I came up with off the top of my head - I'm sure the rushed nature will appeal to most members of Congress!
1. Every third Sunday will be declared "Pirates vs. Ninjas Day." If you were born on an even day you're a pirate, odd days for ninjas, and ninjas must attempt to tag the pirates between the hours of 8pm and 6am. The only rule is that the pirates never win. Suck it, even days!
2. Regardless of who is President at the time, all published photos of our current president will be of a shaved poodle's butt.
3. Babies will be declared nuclear waste and will be confiscated by the feds for reasons of national security.
4. All federal agents will be required to go on pantie raids once a year. Anyone attempting to stop them must be responded to in as serious a manner as possible "Miss, this is a matter of national security." All stolen laundry will be burned on the White House lawn after all agents have returned and gotten very, very drunk.
5. All references to New York will be replaced with "Cranapple by Snapple!" to fund the government's replacement of all stolen underwear.
6. All sex education classes will be graphic and arousing so that when the teacher says "now picture your parents doing that" the abstinence education will stick for a good twenty or thirty years. Babies and pregnancy will also be referred to as "having a major case of the AIDS" whenever possible.
7. A zombie preserve will be created out of the city of Detroit (it's not like anybody is using it) and permits to enter and hunt will be given to NRA members. The NRA gets to use its guns, the enemies of the NRA get to cross their fingers that all members of the NRA becoming shambling undead - win-win. Plus I get to take a shotgun to a zombie and quote Army of Darkness until my mouth is dry from all the awesome.
8. Elections will be decided by a race between a turtle painted blue and a turtle painted red. People will be legally mandated to coo over the turtles as they cutely munch on strawberries far to large for their tiny widdle jaws.
9. Capital punishment will involve reading the bills presented before Congress until you use the dull spoon provided to cut out your brain - assuming there's enough left to find and remove.
10. All tree-hugging hippies will be forced to return to nature and never fucking come back in any form other than bear manure - all manure hippies will be used for gardening purposes and thereby become productive members of society.

I haven't blogged about depression in quite a while because I haven't heard anyone say something so blatantly ignorant that I had to vent somewhere or melt a hole in the back of their head with my laser-eyes. But I do frequently run into people who don't know Jack, Shit, or their bouncing son Jack Shit when it comes to psychology, medication, the history of mental health in America, or what ANY of the mental disorders actually entail.

Depression is known as the Common Cold by psychologists - cuz it's common, duh! And like the common cold, it's unlikely to kill you but that doesn't mean it can't suck and make your life very hard to live. Depression can range from having the joy of life sucked out of you to being completely unable to rise from bed because death and/or unconsciousness seems preferable to anything else. Your brain tells you that life isn't worth living and it's very, very hard to argue with your brain. Low grade depression can be overcome with willpower and a little cognitive reframing (which is just fancy talk for "thinking positively and not bitching yourself into a bad mood). But more severe forms of depression are like waking up to a burly man who punches you in the crotch and then asks "Feel like getting up?" and if you answer "yes" he punches you again and then bites you on the butt. You'd be creeped out but you're past of the point of giving a damn about anything.

That's depression - sound like a minor thing? I can't tell you how many people I've run into who've said something like "Well, they should just snap out of it." When I hear that I want to punch them in the stomach and as they lie winded on the floor yell "GET OVER, BITCH!" Overreaction much? Yeah...but good people get shit on when they're already down and out and that makes me very, very angry. As someone who has suffered from depression for my entire life (I'm "lucky" enough to have bad brain chemistry) I can tell you from experience that having someone who loves you when you're depressed is the best medicine available. It makes all the difference.

Because depression wants you to think you're alone. Depression lies to you and says nobody gives a shit and nothing can possibly change. There is no hope - so just kill yourself. It will twist the facts and try to make you forget any person or event that goes against the idea that you're alone and life is an endless road of  miseries. That one loving person can be the difference between life or death.

But they're not always enough. With the hardcore depressions you're past the point of reality testing and will filter out the positive. Your brain is trying to kill you! That kind of depression is most often genetic in origin and requires medication and therapy to correct. Medication levels you out so the therapy can work - it introduces some rational thought and level feelings so you can hear an important message.

Your brain is trying to kill you because it's sick. Your brain is a lot like an unfed baby when depression comes around. It's very cranky. But like a baby that's cranky because it's hungry, it's trying to alert you to its needs by crying. For me, it looks like a few things are less than optimal in my brain chemistry but Serotonin is the major culprit. It's an important chemical that regulates mood, your bowel functions (because 90% of it is stored in your guts despite it being a brain chemical...), and it helps your brain do such modest tasks as remain awake and sane.

Can you guess what happens when it isn't being used properly? It makes your moods an enemy, it makes your bowels unhappy with your bowels (which is awkward and painful), and it makes staying awake and thinking straight kind of hard. I went undiagnosed for 22 years and my doctors took a shot in the dark on MY suggestion which finally resolved some of my issues.

I just needed me some bloody pills! Before I go any further, pills aren't always the best option - but for people with a biological imbalance they can be the difference between functional and "where's the nearest bathroom? I need somewhere to crap before I kill myself..." Depression and I were such good friends by my early 20's that I didn't really considered occasionally wanting to kill myself abnormal - I called it Fall, Winter, or Summer. For some reason the Spring didn't kick it in. I got hopped up on "happy pills," which is a misleading name cuz the bloody things have never made me feel happy, because my stomach wasn't treating me with love and kindness.

Now it's time for some education about medication - SO LISTEN UP. There are about a dozen primary antidepressants and each of those has two or three generics based off of them and each has a slightly different chemistry behind them. When your doctor chooses a medication for you, and this is VERY IMPORTANT, he's fucking guessing. He has no way of knowing a) which medication is best for you and b) which dose is proper. That's part of why they start you on a low dose.

The other reason is you might kill yourself. Yeah, "happy pills" have among their common side effects depression, suicide, and going goof-ball nuts. Example! After three days on my first medication I opted for some elective brain surgery which was only not performed because as I reached for the butcher's knife I remembered I had a skull in way of my brain and the air so scalping myself wouldn't provide the make-shift air conditioning I was looking for. After sitting down I realized I'd just about cut my head open to let my brain have a "breather" and I decided I'd better not take my next dose...

Fortunately for me, the next brand we tried worked and I became very, very healthy! It's amazing what having your guts process your food like it's food and not tire rubber does for ones health! You get all "not starving to death" and rosy cheeked! But normally it takes doctors three or four guesses to find a medication that works for people. In my case I'll probably need to always be on meds because I have a medical condition but it's not always necessary for people to continue their mental medication indefinitely.

BUT!!!!!!!!! Make sure if you're going on them you take them as prescribed, take them at a regular time, and NEVER EVER GO COLD TURKEY after being on them. Your body adjusts to the presence of the meds so if you go cold turkey you can a) get very sick, b) go nuts,  c) die, or d) prove that God loves you a lot more than the next guy and have nothing bad happen to you. You need to careful ween yourself off of medication or your risk injuring yourself. These pills effect your brain - don't fuck around!

Hopefully this has been informative and educational and can keep you and your loved ones out of harms way. Myths about medication and mental illness are a major reason why easily treatable disorders go unaddressed and hurt the quality of life of otherwise normal people.

And for the record, I've met a lot of "crazy" people who are a great deal more loving, intelligent, and sensitive to the needs of others than "normals." Seeing purple when others see pink doesn't make you evil - it just makes it so you get to dance with the purple clown who crawled out of that smoking OMG DEMON CLOWN RUN!!!

EDIT: because this made me laugh I think my parents may be lying to me about my age... http://www.seanbaby.com/kttg/kttglovestory01.htm

Can a homosexual become straight or celibate? According the the American Psychological Association, no.

Pardon me while I feed the Swear Box. Fuck this bullshit. This decision was reached through a six person "research" panel that only considered 83 studies that have been conducted since 1963. Now you might be thinking "83 studies is a lot" but it actually barely scratches the number of studies conducted on the subject - it's far from a settled thing. But the APA wants you to think it should be and that anyone who disagrees is a homophobic monster looking to force their religion on someone.

Never mind that the person seeking counseling is a homosexual who is distressed by their orientation. Never mind that research suggests over a 50% success rate in changing orientation and/or bringing someone to a point where they're personally happy being celibate. Never mind that empowering the individual to make their own choices is a cornerstone of the field. Please also ignore that homosexuality was removed from the DSM, without research, by a vote. The APA has a history of telling people what is reality and painting the dissenters as crazies.

Ethical violation 1: lied to the general public and to the client base.
Ethical violation 2: imposed an ethical standard outside a client's belief system and lied about there being other options or bias.
Ethical violation 3: misrepresented scientific research to support personal bias.

I was considering the APA to be my parent organization when I finished licensing but seeing as they're willing to lie to people seeking treatment when it doesn't line up with their political and moral views I've lost all respect for them. We're already a "soft science" that the public loathes and/or distrusts so putting out false information in the name of "tolerance" when we're being anything but is disgusting. We'll turn a man physically into a woman because he self-identifies as one but if a homosexual thinks it's right for him to be heterosexual we're doing irreversible damage to his psyche?

The research says: yes we can and yes we should - if we're trained properly and the client seeks treatment.

Depression and Drugs post coming up after a nap. *zonk*

I've felt better...moving on.

Unable to force people into drinking the Koolaid, Obama, Congress, and Co begin a) lying and b) labeling. The lie is that the American people strongly support his healthcare reform - the polls from both right and left wing sources suggest that the majority of Americans are opposed and upset. To make matters even more disgusting, the opposition to Obama's plan is now being painted as right-wing extremists, birthers, and lobbyist commandos of the current health system.

Obama has said a lot about wanting discussion and debate but as soon as anyone disagrees with him that person is labeled a nutbjob or an extremist. Now that the media isn't treating him with kid gloves he's beginning to knitpick about how they're in the pocket of corporations - no, that's Congress; Congress is in the pockets of corporations. What they're doing is ridiculous and maddening. Labeling the opposition will only scare away the weak which means ultimately the opposition to Obama, Congress, and Socialism is going to be stronger because the waffles will be gone or toasted into a more rigid form.

I'm not a right wing extremist by any standard beyond my opposition to Obama's policies and Congress' ineptitude and corruption. I'm not angry because I've been whipped into a frenzy by right-wing propaganda. I'm angry because Senators are in support of a bill they haven't read but want to sign into law. I'm angry because you're either for Obama or you're an uneducated racist puppet of Big Oil and the Military Industrial Complex. I'm angry because I'm getting lumped together with conspiracy theorists and people paid to advocate for companies that exploit others.

I hate the insurance industry just as much as the next guy - maybe more. They're a special kind of scum that'll enjoy a nice, healthy lava bath with the lawyers and politicians in the next life. They're ticks on the back of humanity and their life blood is that of the poor and middle class. If that's the talk of an advocate they really need to hire a better PR firm - and fucking pay me for even mentioning their scum-sucking kind.

I am not a patriot, I am not an activist, and generally I could care less about politics as long as a) I'm not being taxed to heavily, b) our military is strong, and c) my route to work isn't jammed with cars because of construction. But the current administration seems hell-bent on poking me with sticks until I'm forced out of my comfort zone and into a position where I set an ultimatum.

Shape up or ship out - we'll happily fund your trip to the continent you so love and adore just as long as you promise never to come back.

Most Americans just want to eat their pie and make enough money for more pie and to feed their families pie. So when you see a bunch of working Americans stop working and pick up protest signs and take time off of work to go to townhall meetings it's probably not the best idea to write them off. Revolutions come about when governments stop listening to their people - take a look at Iran and Honduras.

So what color are we thinking of for our revolutionary uniforms? Should we go green for kicks and giggles?

EDIT: Blog on depression, medication, and hugging bears with rainbow arms coming soon!

An Obama aide and Timothy Geitner, our treasury secretary, have both suggested that taxes will increase to pay for the healthcare reforms. So if we don't kill the healthcare reform bill in Congress we're going to seeing a major tax hike to pay for it and, seeing as our government tends to pay for everything when focusing on "one" issue, we're going to be paying out the nose. The campaign promise not to raise taxes on the Middle Class was bullshit then and nothing has changed.

I'm sure that taxing the rich serves the interests of this nation - it's not like they could have spent their money in ways that would stimulate our economy or provide jobs...nooooooooooo.

Cash for Clunkers is apparently doing a great job - of providing money to China and South Korea. China loaned us the money for the program and South Korea is selling many of the cars Americans are buying through the program. On top of this, our auto industry is supposedly making "headway" on not sucking like a baby in a boxing match (and not against another baby - it's Tyson vs. a baby) but they're being propped up by the government through that program and with stimulus money.

Our dying auto industry is being kept alive by the lifeblood of others - government vampires?

You're more likely to get blown up in Afghanistan but you're probably more likely to die from gun violence in Illinois. The Land of Lincoln might have one of the strictest gun control policies in the nation but that hasn't stopped gangs from getting guns (criminals buying guns illegally? What has the world come to?!). If I lived in the city rather than out in the suburbs I'd probably volunteer for the military just so I could go somewhere safe where I'd be paid a decent wage and get proper medical care. The Windy City is also a Wheezy City - we're very street in that we're full of bullet holes.

At least one of Chicago's suburbs, Carpentersville, is one of the most gang-riddled places in America. I went to a movie there once and hilarity ensued - a "prep" decided to yell "nigger" at a bunch of locals, which is about as smart and jumping into a tiger cage and yelling "pussy" at the large "cats." Several of my more suicidal friends have dragged me into other crime infested areas where being white is practically like wearing a "mug me" or "shoot me" sign. The everyday citizen thinks you're a cop so they start acting nervous because they wonder if something is going down and the bangers try to figure out if you're a cop or a moron who needs to be reminded where he's at.

Going back to my point - there are parts of America where being "the wrong sort of folk" is as likely to get you killed as being a soldier in Afghanistan. I don't say that to demean our troops but rather to scoff at the "cost" our media bemoans. For a family one death is too many but as a nation drunk driving and gang violence kill FAR more citizens than modern warfare does. Our boys (and girls) overseas are provided much better medical care when they're shot than a poor teenager hit by a stray bullet in one of America's ghettos.

Which is all to say that I believe the news media has an anti-war, anti-military bias dating to decades ago - I hate hippies.