Sunday, May 29, 2011

The Morning Blog

Your Tax Dollars At Work: In which agents from both the FBI and IRS along with electronic surveillance devices and undercover informers are unleashed in order to determine that that strange thing on the driveway is a quilt.

As Gaza becomes more open, Israel becomes more isolated. Bowing to domestic pressure, Egypt has opened its border with Gaza allowing Palestinians to leave the occupied territories. While I agree that this can offer a security problem to Israel, I also believe that it was inevitable, particularly considering the wave of political upheaval sweeping the Middle East. Sooner or later, it was bound to reach the Palestinians. Israel should probably have been prepared to deal with the fact that other countries would not aid them in their embargo of Gaza indefinitely. The people there want to go out and shop, just like anyone else. Some conditions of the embargo still exist, notably a ban on concrete. This saddens me frankly. It's emblematic of what I see as Israels position to not only secure Gaza but to enforce its condition as a pauperized region. Last I checked, concrete was far more useful for rebuilding buildings than making rockets.

People that like us. It's funny: When I read about the warmth being extended towards the West by Libyan insurgents, I recall the 80's. I remember driving by a sign on a college campus that read "Honk if You Hate Libya" and naturally, I recall the evil Libyans in the van from "Back to the Future". The times are certainly changing. The world needs a bit more optimism so let's just accept that these are our new friends:

In other parts of the Mideast, one refrains from advertising American nationality, if only just in case. This is a part of the world where, other than outside American embassies, the Stars and Stripes are most often spotted ablaze and stomped upon.

Here, crowds of chanting youth fly it proudly, alongside their own new flag, a tricolor with red, black and green horizontal stripes and a crescent and star in the center. (It was widely and quickly adopted by the rebels to replace the Qaddafi government’s hated green flag, an unadorned panel so plain that it has been derided as a putting green.) What popular Arab street movement has ever flown the flags of not only the United States, but the European Union, NATO, Italy, France and Qatar, all at once?

Let's face it: This guy has officially beat anyone who will appear on "Antique Roadshow" ever. He wins.

Granted, this might be a contender.

Oh neat! Not that it interests the vast majority of my readers but I see that the Three Rivers Arts Festival starts up next weekend. That's always fun. You can pretty much be guaranteed of two things about the Arts Fest: 1) Terrible art. There's a certain school of painting I refer to as "bathroom art". It's characterized by paintings that are really only suitable for hanging above a crapper. 2) It will rain.

2012 Watch: Are you serious? Has the GOP truly sunk so low? I refuse to accept that the best they can field against Obama might be Herman Cain. They might as well nominate the guy from "The Rent is too Damn High" party.

Pretty strange spot for a Communist country like China to be in: The class struggle is going to the dogs. I'm certainly not going to advocate eating dogs or anything like it. In fact, I'd like to express my opinion that dogs by nature of their historic relationship with humans simply have a different place on the food chain that animals like cows and pigs. However, I have to sympathize with this guy:

At least one netizen has taken this argument to the extreme. Enraged by activists fighting for animals while ignoring the plight of so many rural, impoverished Chinese, a man in Guangzhou posted threats online to kill a dog a day until animal activists donate the money they raised to peasants living in poverty instead of to dogs.

Seriously, they should have other priorities.

Still though... dogs are pretty cool.

It's a little frustrating that this is news. Honestly, this is the sort of thing that should have happened oh...forever ago. Anyways. Hey Malta! Welcome to modernity. It's good news I guess. Sort of astonishing that their marriage laws have been resigned to the Dark Ages for so long though.

Happy Birthday Amnesty International! I don't think you have time to take the day off though. You've got work to do.

Toys for grownups. God, I wish I could fit Legos into my budget right now.

This is cool too.

Trombones have now been videotaped producing shock waves. I so desperately want the government to figure out a way to weaponize them. I've always maintained that oom-pah-pah music is deadly.

Congratulations Earth! The world just got better!

I can't think of a better note to end on.

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