Secret Six versus militant atheists!!

It's Friday, December 3, 2010, I'm climbing the corporate ladder, and this is The Side.

For months I've been working diligently at this here new job with the combat training, fast driving, bomb diffusion, alligator wrestling, and chemistry classes. And it seems the big boss has taken a notice, even if he's off to Japan with his ladyfriend recruiting new assets.

I get a nifty letter in my inbox, personally signed by Mister Wayne, saying how happy he's been with the work I've been doing and progress I'm making. It also names me Batman Inc.'s first employee of the month. I'm obviously honored that Mister Wayne would take note of my work, and he's obviously looked past me impersonating him at Chik-fil-A.

This is a great step up from my previous job. Determining "employee of the month" had an entirely didn't criteria there. You probably don't want to know about that.

COMIX!!

Let's kick this off with SECRET SIX #28. Gail Simone wraps up her "Secret Six versus Secret Six and Jungle Land" storyline with massive carnage and a giant snake thingie. I've enjoyed this storyline a bit because its brought some characters to the table that needed some attention. The roster expanded a bit which may be a tad awkward, but I'm confident Simone can make it work. My favorite part was at the end. Gail Simone had a great run on the comic THE ALL NEW ATOM which I loved, but have somewhat mentally blocked out because of how horribly the title and character got treated after Simone left the book. It was pretty deplorable. But two prominent characters from the series, Gianta and Dwarf Star, have popped up in the expanded Six roster. At first I just figured that this was a good excuse for Simone to use the characters. Then came the ending of this issue. I think Ms. Simone had a bit of steam that needed venting, and that bit made this book my read of the read.

ACTION COMICS ANNUAL #13 hit this week penned by Paul Cornell. It was just two days ago that it was a big ol Cornell love fest up in here. Obviously I was looking forward to this issue. Unfortunately, I felt a little let down. The issue delved a lot into the history of Lex Luthor. Seems that history had a lot to do with Darkseid and Ra's Al Ghul. I get that Cornell is painting a portrait of Luthor as exciting and interesting long before Superman came on the scene, but I wasn't really digging this twist on his history. I loved the idea of Luthor showing up in metropolis with hardly any money, but determined to stay in nice places that he was confident he would be able to afford given a day. Then things twist a bit and the Darkseid stuff gets brought in, and as much as I dig Darkseid as a villain, the whole thing felt off somehow. Not a bad comic, but I didn't really dig it.

Finally we have BATWOMAN #0. I like this character. I love what Greg Rucka did with her in his run with the character in DETECTIVE COMICS. However, Rucka isn't on this book and his absence is sorely felt. Artistically the book is interesting splitting the art between J.H. Williams III and Amy Reeder. I prefer Reeder's art personally. Lovely stuff. The writing is alright but I have a serious gripe with it that's entirely personal. The story revolves around Batman investigating Batwoman to access her fighting skills in one story segment and verifying her secret identity with another. My gripe is entirely martial arts related. During the fight accessment Bruce notes "But she's only using three different fighting styles." I hate that crap. "Only" using three? Three is a lot actually. Claiming a character has mastered tons of different martial arts is just silly. It takes a lot of time to properly train in different martial arts, so three is actually a good number to versed in, just ask any competitive mixed martial artist. Then the more ridiculous bit that came later. "The move she uses doesn't exist in any fighting styles I've studied. It's something she invented herself." I'm sure if I was a lot more ignorant of hand-to-hand combat that would sound cool, but this just has me thinking "Wow, I figure Batman would have at least heard of Capoiera." Note to everyone, there are no knew moves or techniques. Every way a person can hurt another person hand-to-hand has been done, most likely in multiple styles from various places around the globe. So for me, the book looks very pretty, but the writing was kinda lame duck. I'll probably grab the first proper issue of the book just to give it a fair shake, but I'm not terribly optimistic about it.

THE BOMB DIGGITY!!

Bit of drama going on at the local college as a couple of students were trying to make stuff blow up behind their apartment complex and the neighbor called the cops. These dopes were trying to makes bottle bombs with household chemicals and such. There's multiple stupidity going on here.

First off, these two college students could make it work, and yet me and my buddies were making these things when we were barely in high school.

Second is the group of their friends who have rallied around them and have condemned the neighbor who called the police. One claims the neighbor ruined these guys' lives, but the neighbor didn't force them to attempt to make bombs now did she? What I love is the dopes who have insinuated that since that area is known as a "party area" that the lady shouldn't have moves there. OK. I know its been a while since I went to college, but in these "party "areas" stuff usually didn't blow up, and guys weren't making bombs. There's also the college is where you're supposed to learn about stuff excuse. Pretty sure I learned not to try to blow stuff up in residential areas long before I got to college. Then there's the "they were only using household chemicals" bit. You can do a lot with household chemicals. I'm not going into details, because I'm not going to be giving you people any ideas. I'm on to you.

Next up is the excuses from the suspects. First was that it was for a class project. Please tell me what teacher had an assignment that could in any way be construed as "you are to attempt to blow shit up in your back yard", because I'm totally signing up for his class. Next was that it was for a video project. That's so weak, and made even weaker in that the police found no video equipment in the apartment. Tsk. If you're going to blow shit up, you're going to want to have your story for the police ready and airtight ahead of time. Just sayin'.

And finally, I know I said I made these things successfully in high school. However, I didn't do it in a residential area. We were out in the woods far away from anybody and anything, so the only lunatics at risk were us. I certainly didn't do it in a city that hosts the largest military base and top strategic target on the east coast, and I certainly did not do it during a war against terrorists who like using improvised explosive devices. 9-11 brought an end to my bomb making days.

So these goofs are facing federal charges and possibly jail time due to world class stupidity. I am looking forward to the addition in the student handbook saying that students are not to attempt to make bombs. You'd think it would be common sense, but that seems to running in short supply.

MYTHBUSTERS?

Nothing sucks more than a militant atheist. Right on cue with Christmas coming up we get this crap. We're constantly told how we're supposed to be tolerant of other cultures and religions. That's cool, and we should be. However these atheists, who supposedly value reason, seem to think that this doesn't apply to them. So they take to attention whoring this time of year with crap like this. I suppose their propped up airs of superiority just can't stand that someone has something to believe in and celebrate, so they just have to try to tear it down to make themselves feel better. Funny thing is, typically when they go on bashing religion, usually Christianity because you can get away with it, one of their biggest gripes is how intolerant religious people are. You can actually smell the hypocrisy.

CULTURE CLUB!!

Mark Waid caught a bit of heat for a speech he gave at the Harvey Awards a while back. The gist of it was that what comic makers add to culture is more important than copyrights. So basically its contributing to art and culture versus making money. Now this upset some people because really times are tough and there a lot of guys and gals out there who work hard and want to be justly compensated for their work. There's a valid point to both sides and there really does need to be a balance found in this somewhere.

Vito Delsante seems to have found it. In the month of December you can use any character that Delsante has created in your work for free as long as you do it properly and give him the credit for creating the character. All the details on this are in the link. This is a brilliant move. First off it allows fresh talent to have a stab at his works to bring new and interesting things to the table. Also, it gets Delsante's own works out there even more thus making them more recognizable and that will benefit him later.

Brilliant idea. Wish I thought of it. Kudos, Mister Delsante.

MUSIC!!

Winter is coming fast, and this song is just awesome.



That's the shooting match. See y'all Sunday. Don't get any on ya.

And the internet keeps right on turning.

Bangladesh has blocked Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and another site or two due to EDMD (Everybody Draw Muhammad Day). Pakistan has unblocked Facebook now that the images of have been removed. Its official: EDMD is a massive and complete failure. A bunch of morons drawing and posting a bunch of stupid lolmuhammad pictures is not a political statement. It isn't a blow for free speech. It is what I've been saying it is: internet douchbaggery.

I can't say its on the rise, because its a constant. Saw a flare up of it on Google buzz yesterday with people trolling in very stupid manners. Last night saw some dope playing the "puppet master" card after I called him out on being just flat our ridiculous with some of the crap he was posting. It seemed to get under his skin that I did not agree one bit with his point of view. He attempted snark and sarcasm which did not go that well. He later went of to claim he was "playing the person" as opposed to debating the issue. Seen that quite a bit, and frankly anyone claiming to do this may as well just hang it up and just spend their internet time looking at picture of funny kittehs.

Note to morons: if you think you are manipulating anyone via the internet, mostly likely you're only fooling yourself and are looking like a douche.

The internet can provide some degree of anonymity, but ultimately in dealings like this it does the person no good. If you posted a picture for EDMD there are probably no repercussions in your everyday life. However those who saw your work have a lasting impression on your e-you. You may have some difficulty later being taken seriously when you want to be. Some folks may turn their e-backs to you altogether. The puppet master card is just as bad. Posting in forums is a realm of ideas. You're judged on what you bring to the table. The puppet master card is pretty much a sign that you've got nothing and you're hoping to hide behind your internet anonymity. Essentially you're saying, "Sure, I was moron here, but it really all part of my cunning ploy. I'm not really a moron in real life. Really."

For the record there are people that really are puppet masters on the internet. They don't go around announcing it. Its like being cool. You don't get to declare yourself cool. Other people have to do it.

This is coming from a troglodyte banging away on a keyboard with a stick hoping to make e-fire. Declare me what you will.

Did the Earth move for you?

Recently there has been a lot of earthquake activity. Pretty bad one's too. Sometimes the planet gets a bit testy with things like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. I do remember that a lot of people figured California was going to have fallen into the ocean by now. The San Andreas Fault Line was pretty much the entry point for student to learn about plate tectonics. We knew California gets a lot of Earthquakes, and then we learned why. The Earth is really quite a nice place to live, but there's always something going on with it. It doesn't just sit quietly and sin through space. Parts are moving and sometimes some really spectacular and dangerous stuff happens. And of course it all quite fascinating and has been studied forever and a day.

But really all those geologists don't have a clue as to what they're talking about, because fortunately we've had a nice sensible Muslim Cleric inform us that the earthquakes are because women are not dressing as modestly as they should.

So are we as a society willing to risk more earthquakes for the sake of short skirts and low cut tops? It was a very hard question and one that was answered by SCIENCE! "Boobquake" started out on Facebook and led to two events in which ladies gathered to show off the goods. Translation: lots o cleavage. They did this to see if they could cause an earthquake. Well, nothing happened, which kinda sucks because it would have lent itself well to my theory that Global Warming is caused buy the simultaneous existence of Christina Hendricks, Dichen Lachman, and Zhang Ziyi.

Such a terribly blow to the woman's liberation movement. It seems they can't change the world. No earthquakes. Although that volcano in Iceland did start settling down about the same time as Boobquake. Perhaps the Cleric was wrong and we're getting earthquakes due to not enough cleavage. These questions demand answers. And those answers demand boobs.

Raising useless people

Just when you think you've seen some of the most asinine parenting decisions imaginable something new jumps up. And here we have "unschooling". In watching this video I felt better about myself as a parent. I understand that there's a lot of people who are frustrated with the public school system. I understand that not everyone can afford private school and I'm a big supporter of school choice. I'm all for the right to home school and have many students who are home schooled. My karate classes can actually count as a physical education credit for home schooling.

But this "unschooling" is just wrong. It lazy parenting at its utmost laziest. This is what I see Clara from The Guild doing when her kids get older. And for a moment I was thinking there may be a little merit to it when I saw the family with the younger kids going to a store and the parents asked their children about how much money they had and they answered. That's providing real world experiences for your children which teach and reinforce good knowledge. I'm all for that. But then you see them having breakfast and the boy is eating a doughnut while sitting on the stairs because that's what he wants to do.

The kid is like five or something! Of course he'd like to eat a doughnut for breakfast! And when the kids ends up suffering from juvenile obesity in a few years, I'm sure the parents will be baffled as to how something like that could happen. Giving a child a choice as to what they get to eat is fine and dandy, but at least make the question multiple choice and have some items out that have some semblance of nutritional value.

Children should not have free reign over their lives. They do not know how to survive in the world. It is up to parents to teach them how. These parents aren't teaching.

Then we have the teenagers. Boy, they sure look happy. I'd be happy as hell too if I didn't have to do anything I don't want to do. You can actually see an aura of stupid upon the entire family. What's stunning is when the reporter asks the teens if they think they're prepared to go to college?

College? The hell with college. Are those kids prepared to get a job? Are they even starting to be prepared to support themselves at all? They don't have to do anything they don't want to do (and I'm sure their parents are their best friends too) so what happens when they decide that they don't want to work? What happens when they're at home at age 24, unschooled, with no hope of being successful? Well, by that time Obama's Healthcare debacle will be in place and they can go right on mooching off their parents until they're twenty-six, at which time they can start mooching off the Government.

This is flat out social irresponsibility. Its the laziest parenting I have seen in a while. Frankly, its at this point that child protective services should be having a really close look as to what's going on with these families.

But at least they're happy. So it is true: ignorance is bliss. As such these people are the happiest morons around.

The Yin, the Yang and the Vote

It occurs to me, and I'm not alone in this, that people just don't care anymore about things running properly. In fact as long as they get their way in terms of policy anyone screwed over by those policies can piss off. Had a nice discussion with Chris the other night as to why the Healthcare Bill is bad, and it all boils down to something that you have to learn as a martial artist: balance.

Government is all about Checks and Balances, or at least it used to be. The concept works in that there's ways for certain things to be stopped if the one part of Government goes off the reservation. This is why "Super Majorities" are a bad thing. It removes balance. The Healthcare Bill got rammed through by the majority with no regard for the ideas and concerns of the minority. You may be thinking, "Well sure. It's a Democracy. Majority rules." Yes, but you're forgetting a part. Its "majority rules, but with minority rights".

I unfortunately got into it on a web forum with a bunch of people pleased as punch about the Bill. You see, it serves their purpose. It doesn't matter that it's bad for people because they are only seeing the good. Its pretty sad because they are willing to overlook things in that Bill, which is now unfortunately a law, that they don't like one bit. Like being fined for not purchasing health insurance. That's bullshit no matter how you look at it. It's an attack on personal choice. But instead of saying "Wait, this is wrong. Get rid of that crap." it's blown off for the 'greater good'. Insert HOT FUZZ reference here.

Then we see supposedly smart people acting stupid because if one side of politics is criticized then attacks on the other side are triggered. "I don't like that Obama did (insert whatever here)." "Well, Bush did the same thing and you didn't complain!" Well, people would be a bit surprised by the things I complain about, and if they complained about Bush taking away people's freedoms and expanding government than why the hell aren't they complaining about Obama doing the same thing? It actually generates a little confusion when I complain about this administration spending way too much money, and when people try to counter with saying Bush spent too much, I agree with them.

And people, we're over a year in. If you're trying to still blame Bush for everything that is wrong with this country: shut up. You're being stupid.

Right now we have two sides.

First you have Democrats. They tend to be Liberal. This means the Government should be taking care of the people and should be the main problem solvers. They also think people should make whatever choices they want with their lives. Does anyone need me to spell out why those last two statements don't really work that well together?

On the other side are the Republicans. They tend to be Conservative. This means people should be responsible for themselves and the free market should be the main problem solvers. They also think people should adhere to a strict moral code, typically a Christian one. Not the religion itself, but the moral code that is laid out in Bible. Works a bit better, but has its own inherent problems.

So these sides are battling it out because a while back the Republicans held a heavy majority and now things have swung the other way hard. Things are looking to swing back on the next vote. The good thing is we have the ability to remove people in power we don't think are representing us well. The bad thing is you have at least two years of people being really pissed off. I say two and not four because Congress tends to get shuffled over to side opposite the sitting president during the next Congressional vote. This is a good thing. Remember that Checks and balances thing I mentioned?

And unfortunately we had a Super majority in Congress so one side could put through really whatever they want. It doesn't matter that it could hurt some people, because it helps the people the party in control care about. That's when you get things like this:

Imagine you're locked in a huge underground nightclub filled with sinners, whores, freaks and unnameable things that rape pit bulls for fun. And you're not allowed out until you all vote on what you're going to do tonight. You like to put your feet up and watch "Republican Party Reservation". They like to have sex with normal people using knives, guns, and brand new sexual organs that you did not know existed. So you vote for telelvision, and everyone else, as far as the eye can see, votes to fuck you with switchblades.

-From TRANSMETROPOLITAN written by Warren Ellis

See, there's balance in all things, including Government. At least there should be. We had an energy bill here in Virginia. Democrats and Republicans sat down and hammered the thing out. Both sides had stuff they wanted in there. Both sides had stuff they gave up. The end result was a bill everyone could live with. If you're thinking "compromises aren't going to work in these desperate times", stop for a moment and think about exactly who is telling you times are desperate. Are they really desperate? Do they really need 'extreme' measures and reform? Or is it just a bit of scare tactic designed to get you on their side so a radical agenda can be pushed?

Note I used an example of properly working Government on a state level. Another check and balance: States Rights. Sure this isn't as powerful as it was before the Civil War, but it's still there. What is good for West Virginia might not be good for Virginia. Way too much is being decided by people who don't live where you live and don't see the problems you see. They're inside "The Beltway", and many of them really should go home for a bit get back in touch with the people they should be representing.

Here's where I piss off Liberals: Capitalism is a good thing. It breeds success and innovation. It makes you work for what you earn. Here's where I piss off Conservatives: the Government is a good thing. It enforces the law of the land and handles things typical citizens can't like maintaining infrastructure and defending our country. Now, if those statements did not piss you off: congratulations! You are sane. If you are wailing and gnashing your teeth at either of those statements screaming "it breeds GREED", please figure out whether you mean corporate greed and or political greed, let me know. Then I'll put you in a cage with someone who said the opposite, and let you fight it out no-holds-barred. Place your bets here folks, because I might as well make some cash off this.

The free market should be checked by the law of the land. At the same time the Government need to allow the free market to operate and not do stupid shit like making demands on privately owned companies to engage in deals with people they don't want to, make people engage with contracts with firms they don't want, or making fucking automobiles. Both should work together to promote success and limit people becoming victims.

But being a victim is the popular thing nowadays. There's a whole lot of "it's not my fault" and victim of circumstance garbage going around. Well, someone needs to fix the problems of the people, and the people don't want to take responsibility for their own actions, so it falls to the government. There was a portion of the population who voted for Barrack Obama because they seriously thought they wouldn't have to worry about their bills or their mortgage anymore. These people are of course moochers and idiots. They do however bring up a very serious point: democracies get in real trouble when the populous discovers that they can vote for free stuff. Of course it's not free, but they don't care because someone else will pay for it. Perish forbid they get a job and earn it themselves.

But this draws attention away from actual victims. Bad stuff happens to good people every day. It sucks, but there are government programs as well as private ones to help people. We are a responsible society, and ultimately a good one. We help those we can. The motivation behind the Healthcare Bill was basically a good one. Unfortunately it's execution was terrible. It will help people, but it'll also raise taxes, kill jobs and take away freedom, ultimately hurting more than it helps.

I'm, as Mancow Muller puts it, a God, guns and guts type of guy, but I know others don't share my values and those values should not be forced on others. Our Government has degenerated down to a partisan sumo match. Some say that this is a good reason for a third party. It isn't. What it is is time for Americans to tell the people representing them to stop being assholes and do whats good for the country and not what's good for them.

Remember, politicians have two goals: gain power and keep power. The problem with government is that there's too many politicians in it.

So, for everyone wanting to snipe back and forth with the other side of the aisle, stop being stupid. Look at what is going on around you. Look at what is really going on. Learn about the law and the Constitution. Stop getting your information from "talking points" and start getting actually examining what the hell is going on. If there's something you don't like, ignore partisanship and tell your representative. Bitch at these people. Tell them what's on your mind. You can stir a surprising amount of shit up without throwing bricks through windows.

You people think you're smart? Start acting like it.

The government is NOT responsible FOR it's people. Its responsible TO it's people. This country was not made great by its government, it was made great by its people. The government should function to provide the opportunity for everyone to succeed, not be a nursemaid for people who can't of don't want to try to be their best. It also should be ready to give a helping hand to those who REALLY need it. That does not include those worthless pieces of trash out in Downtown Suffolk raised in a Welfare culture and choose not to work because food stamps buy booze and Welfare will pay for cable TV.

Get informed, and get ready to vote. The 2010 Congressional Bashyo is nowhere near over.