A uniform is just an outfit. It does NOT “deserve respect”.

Individual people EARN respect by their actions, not by the clothes they wear.

This writer has friends who are decorated war heroes (one of them damned near died on Iwo Jima). There are other people in uniform who have committed war crimes. Are they equally deserving of respect? Of course not.

There is a cop of Cranky acquaintance who literally saved a child’s life by shooting a man who had a gun pointed at the kid’s head (no kidding, it really happened. The man’s a legend, and deservedly so). There are other cops who have taken bribes or committed crimes. Are they equally deserving of respect? Oh, Hell, no.

In days of yore, there were people, attired like hippie freaks, who went around helping the poor and feeding the hungry. The Manson “family” dressed the same way. Again: equally deserving of respect? Oh, f***ing HELL, no.

So to all whiny-assed, bullying crybabies among the NYPD who are going “waaah” about not being respected: shut the f***ing f*** up, you f***ing f***wits. There are some damned good cops in that town who have earned respect, and who give respect. Guess what? They will get the respect they deserve.

The bad cops will likewise get the respect THEY deserve. And not one bit more. The fabric that covers our bodies means little when compared to the actions of the humans who are covered by that cloth. A uniform, in and of itself, means exactly nothing.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

The Ferguson protesters are a lot like our Founding Fathers:

They are upset about oppression, a non-responsive and discriminatory government, and taxation without representation. Yes, that is correct. The good people of Ferguson we see out there picketing and marching may not be dressed like, say, George Washington, John Adams or Thomas Jefferson; but their complaints are eerily like the ones identified in the Declaration of Independence.

Here is a good article on the matter. Ferguson is making up for revenue shortfalls by levying burdensome taxes and fees upon the populace; said charges not having the consent of the governed:

Traffic fines are the St. Louis suburb’s second-largest source of revenue and just about the only one that is growing appreciably. Municipal court fines, most of which arise from motor vehicle violations, accounted for 21 percent of general fund revenue and at $2.63 million last year, were the equivalent of more than 81 percent of police salaries before overtime.

And the fees are applied in a discriminatory manner, much like what King George did back in the 1770’s:

“If you’re black, they’re going to stop you,” the study quoted one traffic defendant as saying.

In 2013, 86 percent of all Ferguson police traffic stops involved black drivers, the largest share since the Missouri Attorney General’s Office began tracking the data in 2000. According to 2010 U.S. Census data, the city is 63 percent black and 34 percent white.

Got it? The local government is a minority oppressing the majority, and doing so via corrupt, discriminatory and violent means. Just like what sparked the American Revolution. The differences are minor when compared with the similarities.

And just like the American colonists, the people of Ferguson aren’t asking for anything unreasonable: to be treated fairly, have their rights respected, and to have a voice in how they are taxed by the government. Unfortunately, the local administration is likewise resembling its historical counterpart and therefore refusing to change its corrupt and mendacious ways. No way this is gonna end well.

If you repeat the mistakes of the past, you’ll repeat the consequences of those past mistakes. There may not be many powdered wigs to be seen on the streets of Ferguson: but then, when s*** was getting real back in 1776, not many of the American Revolutionaries were wearing them out in the streets, either.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky (whose ancestors were here before the revolution in 1776)

It’s all good if you are a white, Christian male. Otherwise, you deserve whatever is done to you.

That seems to be how America operates: women, people of color, and non-Christians are pretty much here on sufferance, and any injury done to “those people” is no big deal. But nononono, don’t mess with the right-wing honkey dudes, nononono. They are deserving of doubt’s benefit, due process, tolerance, and understanding, yupyupyup. A short list of examples follows :

Number A: Michael Brown, yet another black man executed without due process by a racist white cop. But let’s not rush to judgment, the white cop deserves a fair trial and all the benefits of our legal system. Pity the black man didn’t get any of those things, but hey, it’s his own fault for picking African-American parents, right?

Letter 2: Let’s just read this headline: “Hedy Epstein, 90-Year-Old Holocaust Survivor, Arrested During Michael Brown Protest”. Yes, you read that correctly. This Jewish female had the nerve to suggest that the Christian male cops were out of line for murdering black citizens, so they grabbed her and threw her a** in jail. No references to the Nazis are allowed, nononono, that might be offensive to the St. Louis police, right?

Thirdly: Don’t  report on the evil being done by white Christian males, or you will be arrested. If you are lucky, that is: they might threaten to kill you, instead, for betraying your fellow male oppressors. Nothing worse than a traitor, amirite?

Fourth: the best way to explain away the heinous actions of White Christian Males is to employ the services of a bunch of smiling white people. Because these sweet young white ladies are just doing their jobs, and it would be ungentlemanly to ask them any uncomfortable questions. And be nice to the clean-cut young white Christian men, too, because, well, you know, white people.

Finally: even if a man is a convicted, registered sex offender, white Christian males can use their discretion to allow him into school buildings and onto a varsity football team, because, hey, the girl shouldn’t have put herself in that position, right? The poor widdle wapist deserves a chance to get his life back. And it is wrong to shame him, because he only did what any other man has a right to do, right? Those women have it coming, acting that way, right?

One might say that this writer and other white men should be  deeply ashamed of many members of our  gender, ethnicity, and faith. One would be right. All that privilege went to their heads and turned into a gargantuan sense of entitlement: to the extent that we see the majority of the world’s population being oppressed and abused by a minority (us).

But hey, next time, pick the right parents and chromosome set before you get born like we did, okey-dokey?  Otherwise, don’t complain about being oppressed, killed, raped and abused, because it’s your own damned fault for not being white, Christian and male. Winners keep, losers weep. Quitcherbitchin, loser scum.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Hey, Ferguson Cops: You Deserve to be Hated.

When you are acting like a repressive regime, people will respond as if you are a repressive regime. Gunning down unarmed citizens, beating and gassing the populace, and arresting reporters who are telling the world about what you are doing is no different than what has been done under apartheid, Soviet Russia, mainland China, and so on. If the shoe fits, put it on.

When you are a minority oppressing a majority, guess what? The majority doesn’t like it.

SIEGEL: We’ve all heard about how few black police officers there are in Ferguson. There aren’t many black elected officials either – 1 councilman in 5. Why is that?

BYNES: Well, anything other than a presidential election there is low voter turnout. And the African-American community has been disenfranchised for a very long time. When you have people who are worrying about can I get a job – can I get to work – can I put food on the table – when election day on Tuesday comes around, that is the furthest thing from their minds. And the whites that live in the community – they participate. And so they vote for who they want for counsel and mayor , and they don’t always put practices in place that are best for the majority population there.

When you and those like you are clearly a bunch of bigoted, racist f***s, rhe people you hate just might hate you back.

You did the crime (racist, violent repression). Now do the time. You deserve it.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Republicans STILL don’t give a s*** about the Newtown Massacre

Remember right after Newtown, when all the gun-nutty Senators hid under their desks and dodged the media? Remember how they ignored the families of the slain children of Newtown? Remember how they decided that NRA money was more important than the lives of innocent little kids? Yeah, me too. Bastards, the lot of them.

Lest you think they have grown a conscience in the year since that horrible gun crime was committed, here is the proof that they have not: “Republican” Ted Yoho is holding a family gunfest tomorrow, on the anniversary of the Newtown Massacre. A family event, bring your children and let them shoot guns. On December 14th. Really.

His staff says it’s a coincidence. This gun-owning blogger does not believe that for one second. It is no such thing; it’s a deliberate poke in the eye to all of the parents who are still grieving over their lost kids.

Some in Washington have grown: Senator Joe Manchin has evolved , for instance. But the majority of those “representatives” who were bought by the NRA have remained their loyal prostitutes , opposing any and all legislation to tighten down on criminals or to fund mental health care (the two things that could help prevent another such slaughter).

No, Repubs and Gun Whores still do not care if you die. They still do not care if your six-year-old gets butchered by a maniac with a gun. They only care about pocketing large sums of cash from the arms industry.

Remember this betrayal, Gentle Reader: some in Washington have your back. But the vast majority of Teapublicans would sooner see you shot in the back instead.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Rand Paul says he wants to kill journalists.

Or at least, the ones who catch him lying and stealing. You see, reporters caught him plagiarizing great chunks of his recent “book”, and when he was pressed on the matter, he wished aloud that he could duel with them. Dueling is, of course, two pissed-off people with weapons, trying to kill each other. So, Senator Paul is publicly announcing his desire to murder anyone who catches him breaking the law.

That, friends, is the Tea Party summed up; and, to a large extent, the “Republican” party as well. They want to do whatever they want, whenever they want, to whomever they want, and to be above the law while so doing. They think they should be allowed to silence, jail, or even murder anyone who disagrees with them, or attempts to point out the crimes they commit.

Think about Rand Paul, and his stated desire to kill people who make him look bad. Think about that when you vote.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Second Amendment – Read the Whole Thing Sometime

Mr. Blunt and Cranky has this crazy theory, and it goes like this: the Founders were smart people who argued, haggled, debated, and In the end wrote a Constitution that said exactly what they meant. Nothing more, and nothing less. And if we don’t like something, we can bust our arses and amend it. (Yeah, a crazy notion,eh?)

But when people read the Constitution, they cherry-pick the bits and bobs they like and pretend the rest is not there, or that “the Founders were just kidding with that part”. That is not the act of a law-abiding citizen, folks. No matter if one is a Supreme Court justice or some regular schmuck, we have to respect the entire law. Including the Second Amendment.

People love the second part of the sentence, yes they do. But the first part, about the “well regulated militia”? Even Fat Tony and his posse at the S.C. tend to gloss over that bit.

The only reason to have battle-specific weapons is to fight a battle. And the only smart way to fight a battle is in an organized military group. For that matter, it is the only legal way to do it. So if you’re not in such an organization and you own and use military-style armaments, you are not in compliance with the law of the land.

Don’t like it? Pursue an amendment. But until you get one, just obey the friggin’ law.

Mr. B & C

When “Never” Actually Means “Until I Change My Idiot Mind”

Rep. Andy Gipson (R-Sphincterville) recently said, via Leviticus (20:13 for those of you aren’t hip to the Scrip) on his Facebook page, that gays should be killed. Here’s a snip of the page, for you Thomas-types out there:

Later, he went on Facebook again, refusing to apologize, saying “I do not, cannot, and will not apologize for the inspired truth of God’s Word. It is one thing that will never change.” So, you’re down with killing the gayward. We got it, Andy. You might be a hateful little bigot, but you are at least consistent. God’s word will never change, thus you’ll never be OK with gay folks unless they are dead.  Despicable, but reliable. We know where you stand. Even if it’s the lower level of a two-story outhouse, we know where you stand.

One wondered if he refused to wear nylon and wool at the same time (one shudders at the thought of a poly/cotton mix – oh, the shame, the shame of it); sold his daughters into slavery, or indeed  performed each and every one of the other actions required of we poor souls,  in that unchanging book that is Leviticus. If not, how could he live with himself?

And then, shock of all shocks, the next day, he said he didn’t really mean “killed”. Wait a minute, boyo, you mean God’s word DID change? News to me, I have to say.  Or did you mean that you just decided to stop following it? So much for “never”. 

Most of us think never means, well, never. Evidently, this jackanapes thinks never means “until I am in danger of actually having to work for a living”. Or “Until I realize what an ass I’ve made of myself”.

Nope, here’s the deal: he’s just another lying, two-faced politician who got caught shooting off his yap. His word isn’t worth the spit behind it, and his promises are worth their weight in gold.

If it weren’t the fact that he was using the Bible to make himself look bigger than the pathetic little twerp that he actually is, he might “never” have been noticed at all.

Mr. B & C