and little fat men shall ride them

The figures are in and it looks like Why We Fight, The Fog of War, and Michael Moore really were on to something. Today Boston.com reports that the pay gap between defense sector CEOs and army privates has basically skyrocketed. Derrick Z. Jackson states in the above-linked article "As soldiers have died in displaying personal patriotism, the pay gap between soldiers and defense CEOs has exploded. Before 9/11, the gap between CEOs of publicly traded companies and army privates was already a galling 190 to 1. Today, it is 308 to 1. The average army private makes $25,000 a year. The average defense CEO makes $7.7 million."

But there's more to war profiteering than just obscenely disproportionate salaries. Treason can be lucrative, sure, but it's also tough work. It's not easy to sustain a comprehensive looting and greasing machine or perpetually need to adapt and strategize as to new opportunities for plunder in order to self-maintain. While public opinion and death counts indicate that things may not being going so well over in Iraq in the event that the US does start to withdraw troops, our boys in chromium steel will need to have a Plan B, a Plan C, Plan D, and Plan E up their sleeves. There are plenty of would-be war zone cash cows that can be ripe for the milking given the right conditions to encourage escalation. Thus far the conditions have been favorable, but nothing last forever. Those pesky journalists just won't let the rumors or numbers go. Midterm election season is gearing up and it looks like there might just be a new sheriff in town come November. Not to say that the Democratic party is immune from lobbying efforts, but the Republican Congress has basically been the lapdog of the defense industry. In 2005 House Democrats unilaterally held Congressional hearings into allegations of widespread fraud and overbilling by Halliburton. The Republicans didn't think the allegations or reports that the Army discouraged would-be whistleblowers with threats of deployment into camps under fire such as Fallujah merited a full blown bipartisan Congressional investigation, and declined to participate. So far these hearings have just made a ripple, but now there's a record, the ears of voters are perked, and hopefully the findings and issues brought up in these hearings will have legs.

Real Life Straight Story

A spunky senior has been using his riding lawnmower for transporting himself around his hometown a la The Straight Story. Click here to read the cute little article on Boston.com. While gramps had to stop using his lawnmower because of a municipal ordinance, some of the people in the town are looking into getting him a motorized wheelchair or similar. I thought this was a nice little reprieve from the usual barrage of disturbingly banal newstories on violence, disease, and other dire developments. And if your heart is warmed the idea of grandpa taking stock of his options and riding a lawnmower to town to fetch a quart of milk, I highly recommend you watch The Straight Story.

WWJD?

CNN.com ran an article today regarding a Sunday School teacher in NY State who was fired recently in accordance with a strict and misogynist interpretation of the Bible. The First Baptist Church fired the Sunday School teacher pursuant to the minister's new understanding of the first epistle to Timothy, which states "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent". CNN reports that the woman had been teaching Sunday School at the Church for 54 years, but the minister only recently decided to adopt said teaching from the first epistle to Timothy. Further, the minister says that the restriction on women only applies to roles within the church, not generally speaking. This is all in contrast to GAL 3:28 .

I'd like to know what other wise gems about life and gender the little minister that could from the First Baptist Church has to share.... And furthermore, who is teaching Sunday School now?

Learning from Lieberman

I don't know what the future has in store for Ned Lamont, in November or otherwise, but his recent victory in the primaries over the junior senator from CT certainly sends a message as we head into the thick of election season. Say what you will about Lamont, but I'll tell you this much- the man stands his ground. His platform was and is unabashedly left of center. This race motivated CT voters to register; and once they did they came out and voted for him. Lamont ran and won the first battle on a platform that is unapologetically liberal. He didn't try to pander to the right or meet the right halfway, and I think this is downright refreshing. Don't back down! I hope this trend continues, because I'm sick the argument that we need to pander to the swing voters. When you run on a refreshing platform that resonates with the voters and gives them hope, they'll come out and vote for you.

Self Defense, Self Respect, and Self Sufficiency

Shoot First, Ask Questions Later
NY Times is reporting that within the past year, 15 states (mostly states where gun racks are not unusual) have enacted legislation to expand the scope of the right to use deadly self-defense. Generally speaking, the right to use deadly self-defense has been pretty limited, arising in instances in which the defender in question feared for his safety, and when it was reasonably proportionate. Additionally, the right to use deadly self defense wasn't typically triggered until after you tried to retreat from the theat, again, when reasonable. But now states like Florida, god bless 'em, have had it with these cumbersome restrictions on the right to retaliate with cross-fire to defend property. So the next time you are in Florida and someone just ups and uses your beach chair while you are in the water, upon returning to your spot and finding said fellow beachgoer using your property you can shoot to kill to get that chair back rather than take that extra step and first ask for it back.

Flavor of Love
Back and better than ever on VH1. I don't know where they find these girls. Probably Rehab actually. Caught it last night and basically, it's a train wreck. Try this on for size: "Girl, you better quit inta-ruptin' my prayers before God directs me to whoop yo ass".

Just when you thought gas couldnt get any more expensive
BP had to close down one of the US's major oil pipelines in Alaska this weekend due to corrosion (i.e., wear and tear). You would think they would have enough revenue to maintain and repair their equipment before the problem escalates into requiring a comprehensive shut down... The suspension of this one pipeline reduces the US's daily crude oil output by 8%, or approximately half of Alaska's oil output. Timely!

BB All Stars

So I love me my Janey, but what is going on with her on Big Brother this season?! She was so fun and easy to root for last season, which makes her hijinks this season even more distressing. I don't understand why she is targeting the respectively innocuous floaters rather than Chilltown. Does Will have her under his spell? I mean this is crazy talk! I'm with James and the rest of the s-6 alliance on this one. Janey is fun, but her inexplicable stategy is shaping up to be sabotage for the rest of the good-natured s-6 alliance and a real boon to Chilltown, and who in their right mind wants Will or Boogie to win more than anyone else in that house?!