SHAFTWAXER

Well then. Read this quote from George Bush about the death of Terry Schaivo and see how much it lines up with what I wrote 2 days ago.

“I urge all those who honor Terri Schiavo to continue to work to build a culture of life, where all Americans are welcomed and valued and protected, especially those who live at the mercy of others. The essence of civilization is that the strong have a duty to protect the weak. In cases where there are serious doubts and questions, the presumption should be in the favor of life.”

I’ll keep that in mind when you cut MediCare and benefits for veterans again.

So yeah, by now everybody and their brother has heard something about Terry Schaivo. Hell, today Jesse Jackson felt the need to get involved in this mess by “consulting” with her parents. The real tragedy in this whole mess is how congress and the media have played out and drawn attention to a painful matter that should only have been up to the family. Now, dick headed pundits on the 24 hour news channels are calling names and disrespecting people they know nothing about. Nice work guys, real fucking classy.

Dr. Bill Frist, the same senator dipshit that said you could catch AIDS from tears and sweat, took the liberty of reviewing some videotape of Terry, and from that alone, he felt that he could make a diagnosis of a patient NOT EVEN IN HIS FIELD OF MEDICINE for the benefit of congress. Not to be outdone, House majority leader Tom Delay, the same person who refuses to talk about his decision to pull the plug on his own father because it’s “too personal”, has NO PROBLEM being the champion of keeping somebody who has been in a persistent vegetative state for 15 years alive. He also informed us that “God brought Terry to us” to shine light on what happens to people in America. Ironic that Tom is also trying to pass a bill that would cut 15 billion out of the budget for Medicare recipients, many of which are sustained by a FEEDING TUBE. Isn’t it odd how the Republicans ran on a party platform that medical decisions should be made between the patient, the doctors, and the family? I guess the doctor they were talking about in this case was Bill Frist. Hey Bill, I have a lump here on the side of my ass, can I send you some video so you can have a look at it?

I’m convinced that the “Culture of Life” that Bush and the Republicans are pushing only matters when you are conceived, born, and just as you are about to die. All the unimportant shit in between those 2 points don’t matter unless you are able to make campaign contributions or destroy the gays. If we really cared about life, why would we continue to spend money researching and building more nukes? Why would we spend less than 1% on foreign aid? Why would we not care that EVERY DAY almost 20,000 people die because of poverty and preventable disease? Why wouldn’t we get national health coverage established in our own country? Why wouldn’t we care about working to save MediCare, the REAL crisis, not social security? I’m talking about all the things that allow you to live. Apparently abortion and assisted suicide is more important than these things.

2006 is coming. We will not forget this. And neither will the 83% of Americans who felt that congress had NO BUSINESS holding late night sessions to pass their bill. And George Bush, who wouldn’t fly in to Washington from Texas for the tsunami, was at least able to get off his ass and sign this bill.

2006 is coming.

Scratch another one off the list of “shit I would like to do at some point in my life,” I’ve officially been to Las Vegas.

One of the more interesting features of Las Vegas (at least to me) was that I already knew where a lot of things were or what they were by sight from playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas so much. Sure, some of the names were a little different (what do you mean it’s called Caeser’s Palace and not Caligula’s Palace?) but I found myself strangely familiar with my surroundings.

The area around Vegas is equally beautiful and disgusting at the same time. The desert does have a strange beauty to it, and as you are on the outskirts of town, the mountains are incredible, especially when the only mountains you are used to in Michigan come from the morbidly obese serving up mashed potatoes at the Old Country Buffet. The significant lack of grass is a little unsettling, even more so the choice to replace grass with gravel and stones. Then again, grass isn’t really supposed to be in the desert. It’s called the desert for a reason.

While there, we were treated to tickets to see the Celine Dion show. I’m sure that it is hard to believe, but I’m not really a Celine Dion fan. I know, it completely goes against my character. The dancers were incredible, and the stage and set design were nothing short of phenomenal. Celine, however, lip syncs roughly a third of her show. And holy shit, does she EVER have the faux humility thing down to a science. During the show, a star struck woman said during one of the ovations “Isn’t she incredible? She’s so humble! She’s SO GRACIOUS!” I had to turn around and see what she looked like. I couldn’t believe somebody could be so fucking oblivious.

If I were to never go back, I don’t think I would really be all that upset. I don’t think that Las Vegas could ever live up to the myth, the lure, the allure it brings upon itself. Unless you are stacked with money, I don’t think it can be nearly as glamourous as one would like it to be. The sheer volume of white trash wandering up and down the strip is only matched by the sheer volume of traffic not going anywhere along I-15 and I-215. I don’t know, I always had this image that had probably been pounded into my head about casinos and all that, but in reality, it’s a ton of old white people pissing away their money in front of a slot machine. And honestly. Is it necessary to have a fucking slot machine every 4 feet? You get off the plane and not 20 yards from the gate is a bank of slot machines. At the cookie-cutter schools we practiced at I swore I saw slot machines in the lockers. Amazing.

I don’t have a problem with gambling. It’s your money, do what you want with it. Hell, I like the games, it’s the money that I’m not so fond of losing. But really, when you look at all the money that was sunk into that sandbox in Nevada, it makes you wonder what kind of effect it would have had on AIDS research, health care, or curing cancer. Don’t get me wrong, I recognize how incredibly fortunate I am to have had the opportunity that I did. It was an incredible experience, and I’m thrilled that I had the opportunity to experience it. But just like New Orleans, it was the people I was with that made the place great, not the place itself.

We now return to your regularly schedule angst… right… NOW.

This has been brewing up for some time.

It is no secret that I, for the most part, really hate people. I find a lot of people to be completely immersed in their own world, completely unaware of their surroundings. It seems to be trendy to be self-absorbed. My biggest issue, however, is that most people think that they are so fucking important that they should have the rest of the world stop for their every whim and need. Everybody wants something for nothing. Guess what, folks. Nobody cares.

Everything has a consequence. When you do something for somebody, there is a consequence. When you say something, there is a consequence. When you fart in a car, there is a consequence. Don’t think that there wont be. If you say something nice, you’ll probably like the consequences. Good things tend to spawn more of the same. If you say something fucking stupid, just like a fart in a car, it lingers, and you will eventually be surround by the stench of your own shit.

The world owes you nothing. The world does not start and stop at your own convenience. Just because you want something doesn’t mean you need something. People often have more things in their lives than satisfying your current want. If you want something, you often have to work for it. There are no hand-outs. Don’t expect me to bust my ass and waste my time just because you feel you are entitled to it. Often times, all you have to do is show a little effort to get results. Just give me something, anything, show me that you are at least trying. More often than not, what you get back will be matched if not doubled. Otherwise, expect to get a big fat bag of fuck you instead.

Be ready. Think about what you say and do. There are consequences. There are ALWAYS consequences. And if you don’t believe, just you wait. You wont like it.

Why some people choose to get married is completely beyond me.

I look at them, I look at their style, I look at their soul, and then I get just a little depressed because it seems like the person they are with just completely weighs them down from something that they could be or could have been. This is especially profound when I look at some other married couples and think how incredibly good they are together and for each other.

Maybe some of this is superimposing myself into their relationship, and really, that’s not entirely fair of me to do. After all, I’m not them, I don’t know what really makes them tick, nor do I know the circumstances and experiences that led to them hooking up. Then again, maybe we are all victims of sappy fucking movies, unrealistic sitcoms, and unfair diamond commercials designed to show you exactly how pathetic your love life is unless your man buys you a huge fucking diamond, takes you to Paris, and proposes to you all over again on the footsteps of some building where we secretly replaced your parents with Folgers Crystals.

So let’s take a stand together and give a hearty FUCK OFF to the diamond industry (don’t even get me started about how the diamond trade and industry supports the evils of slavery and terrorism far more than pot could ever aspire to) and to the jack-offs at Hallmark. We don’t need your toxic horse shit polluting us mortals just trying to get by and do the best we can.

We’re too busy getting divorces to put up with your shit.