Osama bin Whatever

[zoocoyote]

 So apparently Osama's dead. This, in spite of the pretty persistent rumors that he died up to a decade ago. Maybe things really did go down as they're portrayed in the news, but in all honesty, it would not surprise me one bit if the whole thing was staged and he really did die several years ago. Whether a partisan ploy by the Democrats or a pro-

Comments

[zoocoyote]

Funny you should mention that, because bankrupting the US was apparently part of Al Qaeda's strategy--see here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_qaeda#Strategy and here http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/bin-ladens-war-against-the-us-economy/2011/04/27/AFDOPjfF_blog.html . We haven't been bankrupted yet, but we're close, and while far from all of the blame for the recession we're still in can be attributed to our continued reaction to 9/11, some of it certainly can be.

Might've mentioned this already, but the TSA is apparently now coming to train and bus stations near you. I suppose that makes travelling in any regard now pretty much "not a right", eh?

As for drunk driving checkpoints, I think there are certainly worse things. I abhor the idea of drunk driving, and think penalties for it in many parts of the US are far too lax. That said, between two drunk drivers, I'd rather see the one who's caught because of a car wreck punished than the one who was driving relatively safely, and was only caught because of a checkpoint.

The celebration is indeed ridiculous. Kudos to my roommate/classmates/professors for not creaming themselves over his death. He was an evil man, and his absence does make the world a better place, but celebrating in the streets in the same fashion as the more extreme Muslims post-9/11 brings us down to their level, IMHO. And anyone who uses the excuse "but we're the good guise!1!!" is ignorant of the fact that, for all its positive attributes, the US is guilty of plenty of atrocities, and a black-and-white view of the world tends to be an overly simplistic one.

[hastka]

I couldn't agree more. As I saw all the people chanting U-S-A at the white house, I was like, doesn't ANYONE see the irony here?!?! So glad at least one other person does.

And frankly... okay, so we shot some dude after TEN YEARS of looking, and ended up only finding him because of some chance intelligence and because he got sloppy and didn't read wikileaks. :) And we somehow still managed to crash a helicopter in the process.

Now, I agree he's a "bad person"(tm) that the world is better off without. I just don't see the value reveling in it. And then Obama shamelessly turns it into a photo-op at the old trade center tower site, and conservatives naively buy into his transparent back-patting. Whatever.

Anyway, I don't mean to be as negative/snarky about all this as I probably am. It's just so irritating to me that the country is, for the mostpart, so dumb. :P

One of the comparatively few fatal flaws of America is the need to make everything 100% airtight. See also: Lawyers. People weasel out of obvious laws all the time, as well as people who are wrongly imprisoned because of ones that are usually just. Well, the reality of the matter is, someone with a bomb easily COULD get on a bus, or into a ballgame, or whatever, and no amount of security will prevent all attacks, especially when that security is retrospective and only (for the mostpart) addresses old attacks people have tried before. Here's a thought: Why not put locking doors on aircraft pilot cabins BEFORE someone hijacks them?!?! What the hell. :)

Anyway, I'll stop before I rupture something. :)

Mission.. aw, who the fuck cares.

[gabrielhorse]

In answer to your hypothetical question, I for one do see the irony, but I know we are part of the "silent minority" who are actually paying attention- and that any attempts to warn the general public anytime our awareness picks up something disconcerting or dangerous will probably either be ignored or worse, make us targets for people looking for a target to focus their frustration upon. The fact you don't see any value in reveling is the kind of thing that makes you a target of the kind of people who do- whom furthermore would rather you join their ridiculous flailing about and backslapping. When you don't, it bothers them and they would rather try to force you to join in their game than view the world from a broader perspective.

Also, there's nothing wrong with being snarky- trust me on this one ;)