Absurdity of the Week, The Shabby State of the Republican Party Edition

Question: How desperate are the Republicans?

Answer: So desperate they're rallying behind a 14 year old kid.

Absurd Link of the Week, The People Making Bad Choices Edition

Have fallen behind in the 40 posts in 40 days challenege I clearly need to double up.

In other news, what do you do when your significant other physically abuses you for the whole world to see? Well, if you're Rihanna you clearly get back together with him. According to People Magazine, they have gotten back together after 3 weeks of being separated. Way to set an example to millions of girls. If your boyfriend beats you, it's probably something you did. Thank you for perpetuating the subjugation of women and justifying domestic abuse . Here's how I imagine the conversation they had:

Chris Brown: Hey babe, happy birthday.
Rihanna: who is this?
CB: It's me, Chris Brown, just wanted to call and wish you a happy birthday
Rihanna: oh, uh....thanks.
CB: And I also wanted to apologize for that....you know, whole beating you up deal. I'm sorry, I truly am, but sometimes you just make me so mad, and you're so pretty that I don't want to lose you. You know how it is in the rap world. I need to build up my cred, and I can't have my bitch disrespecting me in public. I had to make an example out of you. It hurts me more than it hurts you. So what do you say, you forgive me?
Rihanna: Oh Chris, your'e such a romantic.

And, end scene. Yup, our world's going down the toilet.

Absurd Link #3

I've been meaning to update this blog with more frequency, but, eh, what can I say, I've been lazy. Anyway, here's another ridiculous link brought to you by PETA.

PETA tells Ben & Jerry's to Use Breast Milk for Ice Cream

It's becoming increasingly harder and harder for me to give PETA the benefit of the doubt. I'm lactose intolerant, so I understand why they would bring up the issue about the unhealthy aspects of milk. Instead of regular milk, I drink soy milk. If PETA really wanted to advocate healthier/better choices for the sake of the protection of animals, wouldn't it be better to go that approach Also, does this mean that PETA cares more about the well-being of animals than the health of human beings? Assuming that this ridiculous plan is put into action, wouldn't the high demand of milk cause companies like Ben and Jerry's to find a consistent milk source? Where would they go to do that? A third world country? Additionally, their argument that you're fucking with nature by drinking something unnatural can work against them. The purpose of breast milk is to feed infants, and applying it to make a product that's consumed by millions would go against its natural intent. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to eat a big juicy raw burger.

Absurd Link of the Week

9 year old Boy Banned from Little League for Being Too good

from the linked ESPN.com article:

League attorney Peter Noble says the only factor in banning Jericho from the mound is his pitches are just too fast.

"He is a very skilled player, a very hard thrower," Noble said. "There are a lot of beginners. This is not a high-powered league. This is a developmental league whose main purpose is to promote the sport."

Noble acknowledged that Jericho had not beaned any batters in the co-ed league of 8- to 10-year-olds, but say parents expressed safety concerns.

There are two things that are emblematic in describing the idealized vision of the American way of life. Equal opportunity and a strong spirit of competition. While these two don’t exactly characterize and fully describe what being an American is, there is enough of a presence in our society to say that these are somewhat accurate characteristics. These two, I believe, play off of each other and often co-exist peacefully. Once in a while, however, people (dumb fucking people who should be sterilized) are so concerned with keeping things on an even keel that not only does it hinder the notion of competitiveness, but completely squashes it.
I think the right to equal opportunity (for the most part) is what makes this a great country. However, egalitarianism and equality can sometimes be a double-edged sword in which more harm than good is done. Of course, the same can be said about competition being taken to the extreme. I can recall a personal experience in which a kid I played little league with was instructed by the coach—who also happened to be his dad—to purposefully bean the opposing team’s best batter just to give our team an advantage. However, this happens with less frequency and is usually attributed to people being complete assholes. In contrast, this story is symptomatic of a deteriorating culture.
The problem extends beyond the realm of sports and competition. Our society is concerned with equality in other aspects of daily life, such as our education system. A notable example of this is the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.Similarly, general distrust for those who are better has become the norm. This can be seen in politics where candidates have much more success if they are better at portraying themselves as regular blue-collar folk. This same mentality is the reason why Obama’s perception of an elitist had a negative effect on his poll numbers.
This kind of behavior not only punishes those who strive to be better but also rewards and promotes mediocrity. It further propagates the argument that we live in a country where entitlement is rampant. Why would anyone try harder to maximize their potential when its as rewarding to strive for mediocrity? As alarmist as this might sound, if this trend continues our future will be that of a dystopia not unlike the world the characters in Kurt Vonnegut’s short story “Harrison Bergeron”. Quite frankly, that’s not a world I want to live in. So yeah, fuck it, let the kid play. Let him pitch his no-hitters.

Absurd Link/Story of the week

http://blog.peta.org/archives/2008/07/al_gore_to_the.php

In a recent post on PETA’s blog, a blogger condemned Al Gore for admitting that he likes eating meat.

Al Gore admitted to an audience at a political blogger conference that he may, indeed, be bad for the environment and guilty of contributing to global warming. Why? Because he just can't seem to stop eating meat, which is more harmful to the global warming crisis (which Gore is known for being a teeny bit fanatical about) than all of the world's cars, trucks, SUVs, and planes combined!
According to Ezra Klein at Prospect.org, Gore said, "It is true that it would be healthier for us as individuals and as a planet if we consumed less meat. I acknowledge that. … I myself am a meat eater and maybe that's had some effect" (emphasis mine). How did he go from acknowledging that vegetarianism is better for individuals and the planet to saying that maybe his choice to eat animals has some negative effect?
Without committing to any changes in the present, Al Gore explains that he "plead[s] guilty" and that we must "walk before we can run." Seriously? He doesn't know how to walk the walk on this issue? Have we not been clear enough with this guy? We'd love to love you, Al, but please stop clinging to the one thing that is so devastating for the world while asking everyone else to drop their bad habits.
What's next, M.A.D.D. beer cozies sized to fit in your car's cup holder? Ugh.


There’s no doubt that the biggest polluter in this world is the meat industry. However, I think it’s difficult to take PETA seriously with regards to this situation for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, we shouldn’t forget that PETA’s reason for being is. According to their FAQ/Mission statement page on their website, they believe that “animals are not ours to use for food, clothing, entertainment, experimentation.” With that said, their goal is to create a society in which animals are free from being eaten, tortured, enslaved, etc. Admittedly, this is a noble if somewhat misguided cause. Unfortunately, their political/philosophical agenda is such that anything or anyone with a divergent opinion is vilified, such as say, Al Gore.

Secondly, I think it’s hypocritical to demonize Al Gore for eating meat when PETA ignores the fact that soy (which, if I’m not mistaken, plays a large role in a vegetarian and vegan diet) is at the present moment, the biggest factor behind deforestation in the Amazon. According to this 2003 NY Times article the production of soybeans has lead to a huge increase in deforestation. According to the article, the rise in soybean production can be attributed to the rise in demand, particularly in China.

(http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/17/international/americas/17BRAZ.html)

Economists say that the main spur to the soybean boom is the emergence of a middle class in China, much of whose newly disposable income has been spent on a richer, more varied diet. During the past decade, China has been transformed from a net exporter of soybeans to the world's largest importer in some years of whole soybeans as well as oil and meal byproducts.

Along with more of the Amazonian forest being cut down to increase its output, soy production has had the following negative effects, according to a press release by Friends of the Earth International (http://www.foei.org/en/publications/pdfs/FoEI-RTRS.pdf/):

Conversion of forests and savannahs and related loss of biodiversity, climate change
through land-use changes, fertiliser use and NOx emissions, disruption of surface and
ground water and rainfall patterns.

Social problems such as land conflicts and human rights violations, loss of livelihoods,
poisoning and expulsion of rural communities, small farmers and indigenous peoples.

Forced displacement of the local population into cities and undisturbed natural areas,
increasing concentration of land, and related rural unemployment, poverty and
malnutrition.

Displacement of existing agriculture (particularly cattle ranching and small holder
agriculture) to unexploited and vulnerable primary forests and savannahs.


With that said, there is at least some culpability in the destruction of the planet by those people who consume soy. I think that there definitely needs to be an effort in curbing the environmental damage that the meat industry have, but I don’t think that the best way to go about it is to try to convince people to stop eating meat and switch to vegetarianism/veganism. I, an avid meat eater, have recently made a concerted effort to buy meat locally and make sure that the meat is usually grass-fed. This is a personal choice based on my desire to have less of an environmental impact and ensure that the animals that I consume are treated humanely. It’s mostly because I want to hold my actions accountable. Plus, grass-fed beef just tastes SO much better.

I don’t think that anyone should be taking their environmental advice from PETA. That’s not what they’re about. Instead of trying to make me feel guilty for eating meat, they should stick to what they do best, which is throwing red paint at people who wear fur coats.