It's Tea Time

Day in and day out, folks just give me more reasons to dive headfirst into misanthropy. Believe you me, the water is deep down there.

I own two dogs, one is a male Pit Bull mix of some sort (quite possibly Labrador), the other a female Australian Shepherd mix, two and eight years old respectively. I love them both very much. However, Loralie (the shepherd) is a mama's girl, and Petey (the Pit) is a daddy's boy. If he could, he would come with me everywhere, and often times he does just that. He makes frequent visits to my office and hangs out with the folks in the call center. He has often eaten from our CEO's garbage can, or at least attempted too, before being yelled at and skulking away.

They enjoy meeting new people, and absolutely love having company over. They are two of the best friends I've ever had, which leads me to my point: sickening ignorance leading to horrific and ineffective counter measures. Namely, BSL (Breed Specific Legislation).

Anyone reading this likely has heard of it. Denver is the city that seems to be the most renowned for its enacted BSL, but there are others, and many more debating it in their town councils. It sickens me, mainly because I understand that in the majority of cases the people doing the "discussing" have no interest in solving any real problem. There isn't a problem to solve, they know it, you know it, but unfortunately most people just don't have the time to know anything but what is spoon fed to them through their magical picture box.

Besides, if there is no problem, and they can make it seem like there is, well then it's a real easy problem to solve ain't it! Just wait a few months and declare the problem solved. Whoopee! Reelection for me!

To exemplify, here are a few comments I found on Yahoo Answers regarding questions about Pit Bulls:

You've got to be friggin nuts to own one of these mentally unstable dogs! No matter the race!! I'm in California and I see a lot of races owning them, blacks, whites & hispanics. Most in their late teens to mid twenties. Don't think it's a race thing. But do think that it should be illegal to own one. These dogs kill too many ppl every year

Apparently too many is no more than 23. Yes 23. And that's all deaths in 2008 by dogs in general, not Pit Bulls. Fifteen deaths were attributed to "Pit Bull type dogs". What constitutes a "Pit Bull type" dog? Good question. Point is, this dolt is more dangerous than any dog could ever be. Her idiocy is the worst form of virus.

Link to statistics referenced

I have been around pit bulls that are sweethearts, but you always have this nagging feeling of distrust of the breed for they can turn vicious in an instant. I am personally opposed to the breeding of pit bulls & would be for a ban on them in my home state of Az. A ban has already been put in place in Colorado - not the whole state I believe but in the Denver area or the county that Denver is in.
Source(s):
Professional breeder.

OK, firstly: Professional breeder? Really? Come on buddy, buying a couple of dogs and then abusing them by keeping them eternally pregnant in your backyard doesn't qualify you as a "professional breeder". So this genius says, specifically, that in his own experience he has "been around pit bulls that are sweethearts", yet his "nagging" distrust continues. Why exactly? He obviously has no experience being attacked by one, or knowing anyone who has, or he would have mentioned it.

Which leads me to the breed, as a whole mind you, being able to "turn vicious at any instant". Pit Bulls are no more likely to exhibit this behavior than any other dog, period. PERIOD. This guy should have his fingers removed so he can't type to folks anymore. He's doubly worse because he actually has to add in the fake job name drop, which consequently led the questioner to rate his as the best answer not on validity but on IMPOSSIBLE TO CONFIRM FANTASY JOB.

I could go on for quite some time, and actually I think I may post some more examples tomorrow. Believe me, if someone would actually pay me to mock these folks, I would have some serious job security. But nay, tis not to be!

So as not to leave you all completely depressed by the cesspool devoid of critical thinking that is modern society, enjoy a picture or two...of my beloved killer, Petey (and his step-sister Loralie, of course).

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EDIT 02/04/2010

I've noticed more hits for this post in the past couple of weeks, has something happened I'm unaware of? Are union folk having issues and crossing lines? I'd love to get some comments on this if so.

ORIGINAL POST FOLLOWS
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Link

The agreement with the UAW, which must be ratified by union members, and the deal with the automaker's lenders are milestones in the effort to keep Chrysler and its 54,000 employees out of bankruptcy.

They come as the Obama administration seeks to make the automaker viable once again by stripping it of its overwhelming debt load and partially merging it with Fiat.

The agreement with the union essentially relieves Chrysler of a portion of the $10 billion it owes to the union's retiree health fund. In exchange for giving up its claims to some of that $10 billion, the union is getting the significant equity stake in the company.

OK I get it, now the UAW wants to help the company do well. You could've fooled me, since for the past ten years it was helping to run it into the ground. Here's the real problem though:

"If it takes company stock as a part owner in the company, it would be bargaining against itself," he said. "It can never act as adversarial in that relationship. Also it's in a position that to make the company more stable, it has to reduce health-care benefits of its own retirees."

So who's going to form a union to protect the workers rights from the union? The truth is unions in principle are wonderful, and can bring about a lot of great social advances. However like everything else in life, they are not incorruptible. The UAW has successfully exploited Chrysler for how many years now, only to bring them to their knees and get what they've really always cared about: power.

Is anyone else tired of media scare tactics? Who's buying this crap anyway. Apparently if you throw an animal name in front of the word "flu" people flip a shit.

Here's the thing though: Swine Flu is essentially normal flu with a cherry on top (the name). The same people who have to be concerned about "regular" flu should be wary of this one, namely the very old and very young. That's it. No panic necessary.

At least with the bird flu there was a genuine fear. Mortality rates at points were recorded at 90-100%. Look, if you have a one in ten chance of surviving an infection regardless of your age and physical health, that's scary. That deserves to be monitored. However, when you have a lot of other really important things going on in the world, like I dunno, the Taliban pushing towards Islamabad or the global economy fighting it's own bout of the flu, let's not report this bologna 24/7.

They should have called it Babe Flu. That name alone might have helped to assuage the number of jack asses who will be visiting the hospital with a runny nose. As if we don't have enough problems with hospitals not being able to afford the hypochondria incarnate that is the good old US of A.

"But I was here first! So what if he's holding his own severed fingers, I have a mild cough and some sniffles, SAVE ME."

edit: OK, this flu variant does have some troubling aspects to it. The one that got me the most is who it's been killing (young, healthy folks), not so much because I fall in that category, but more because it represents a significant difference in the function of the flu itself. In other words, we're all gonna die. Get a good book, some bottled water, some Tostitos and get your ass in the closet.

Edit 5/12/09: Apparently the average CC debt number is very skewed. It is much more likely the average CC debt is in the $2500-$3000 range. This makes much more sense, and paints a much less dreary picture. Check this out: The Big Lie About Credit Card Debt

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Link

Almost 80 percent of American households have credit cards. The average outstanding credit card debt for households that have a credit card was $10,679 at the end of 2008, according to CreditCard.com, an online marketplace designed to link consumers and card issuers.

"Individuals are going to have to save more. That's why savings incentives are so important," he said. "That's why we need to do things to stop the marketing of credit in ways that addicts people to it and so that our households are again saving and families are again preparing to send their kids to college."

Jesus, $10,679 is the average credit card debt for the American household? Stop reading and just take a moment to let that sink in. If you're someone in that position, I feel for you. That's a really tough place to be. Still, I think many of you, if you're honest with yourselves, would find that is wasn't just "bad luck" that landed you in that position. Credit cards were never meant to be used for major loans, the interest rates alone explain that. They are convenient, but not economical.

Which brings me to the second quote. I resent the fact that Larry Summers thinks I need protection from marketing practices that "addict" people to credit. I'm really sorry folks, but if you can't see the truth in what credit cards are, then we're all royally screwed. It doesn't matter what the government does for you, you'll still suck.

Truth is, I think everyone gets it just fine right now. They realize what they have to do, but it just takes time. When I first moved out of my home, a bunch of circumstances out of my control led me into about $6000 worth of credit card debt. I ended up having to make some tough decisions, and focus on paying it down. Credit card companies are often interested in helping you out, and there are always the balance transfers to new CC's at 0% APR which are a huge help. Obviously you don't want to do that again and again, but if it's your first time learning your lesson it's a very helpful option. Long story short, a year later I was free and have been since. That was about seven years ago.

People need time to reorganize. You want to help them? Let them know their options. First thing you should always do is call your credit card company and speak with them. Let them know your situation. They can give you options. Some profit is better than no profit, so they have good reason to want to work with you.

As communities we need to be supportive. Competition is great, I love it, but it can be detrimental when it drives people to live way beyond their means. Life really is about more than what you own, and we need to learn to respect each other and our struggles. This doesn't go for the upper class, fuck them, they are beyond all this and will always be dicks for the most part. This is for the middle/lower class folk, because hey, we really are all in this together.

So make cuts where you can, save where you can, and most importantly keep the faith that there is a better day coming just beyond the horizon. Do that, and we'll all get there together just fine.