Chia Pets

Chia pets. I remember these vegetative hairy things coming out when I was a kid. My thought, pop culture Andy Warhol would have gone to town with...perhaps creating a chia sculpture or producing several posters in a variety of garish colors...pure Warhol. I never viewed these little critter shaped plant containers as anything but a joke. I didn't want one...'till now.

A co-worker circled an ad from the local Walgreens and placed it on my desk so that I would see it when I arrived this morning. There it was, an ad proclaiming the American fascination - as long as you don't speak of it - Chia Pets. An array of new fangled ones assaulted my optical nerves...Homer Simpson, Marty the Madagascar Zebra, Shrek, and Donkey. I was glued. Only $15.99 for my very own Donkey Chia Pet! I had to have one. I went online and located the nearest Walgreens, checked Mapquest for its exact location, and yes, I plan to get one of these after work. Why? Because it's a donkey. My house is a regular shrine to these braying beasts. A Chia Donkey with flowing green mane will fit in nicely. I'll even water him regularly.

Criticize Away, Cheney Says It's A-Okay!

Yesterday I heard the news - Dick Cheney said that it was okay for Americans to question and even to criticize the war in Iraq. Thank heavens! I was losing valuable hours of sleep wondering when the FBI would burst into my home and lead me away citing the Patriot Act while accusing me of being a possible terrorist threat to the White House. Now, thanks to Mr. Cheney, I can come out of the criticism closet and tell all exactly what I think.

But then again, who the heck does he think he is? Is he the king? God perhaps? Which country does he actually think he lives in? A dictatorship perhaps? I always thought that I was residing in the supposedly democratic nation called the United States of America. And, I mistakenly thought that Freedom of Speech was protected under a certain document called the Constitution. A flimsy piece of paper, my ancestors actually fought Britain for.

I'm sorry for the rambling, I understand completely - Mr. Cheney doesn't know how to read and cares little for history.

Boobs, Tits, and the American Desire

This past weekend my partner showed me some keyword research she was doing for an article. She read the more than 300 top keywords used for the month of October. I listened intently and agreed that yes, it truly is a reflection of American society...a sad and unspoken reflection. At least 200 words had to do with pornography as reflected by the phrases of hot teens girls, pubescent girls, and little girls, followed by the array of desired nudity - breasts, boobs, tits, big tits, etcetera. Other than pornography, Americans enjoyed searching, and I'm assuming, oggling, over Jessica Simpson and Pamela Anderson. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that those most opposed to online pornography also enjoy it.

As a society, we don't like to discuss the sexual exploitation of children, the abundant desire for pornography and the reasons for the attraction, and the fact that we, as a country, are filled with individuals whose definition of "deep thought" consists of trashing, oggling, or disrespecting someone else. It is the common misconception that if you ignore something, it will go away. Instead, shouldn't we clean out the closet?

A Dedication to Spammers

I do not like junk mail and spam
I do not like it, Pam I am!

It clutters my mail; it fills it up
It wastes my time, hell yes and yup!

Send your junk to yourself, please leave me alone
Don't target my e-mail or bother to phone!

I do not like junk mail and spam
I do not like it, Pam I am!

We as a country are rude as hell
screwing each other far as I can tell!

In the name of a buck they'll phish for you
taking your identity for the ultimate screw!

I do not like junk mail and spam
I do not like it, Pam I am!

Hypocritical Behavior and the United States

Do hypocritical people bother you as much as they bother me? These self-righteous individuals preach the moral code of conduct; that is, treat others fairly and justly – with respect. The problem is, our “moral example” is often not moral at all – a false idol so to speak.

This brings me to the CIA’s Black Sites. Black sites are CIA-run prisons in countries that allow less than desirable interrogation practices. These sites are illegal in the United States. This begs the question – what type of interrogation practices does the CIA conduct? We are already aware of our military’s lack of ethical conduct regarding prisoners. So, what about that of the CIA? And, who okayed the implementation of these Black Sites anyway? I would assume that would have been the White House.

Hypocritical behavior. If the United States is quick to judge the behavior of foreign leaders by pointing fingers at brutal practices, unfair treatment, and lack of legal representation, then perhaps our leaders should look in the mirror and point their corrupt fingers at the worst culprit of them all – the United States, the bully of the World, a country known to implement foreign puppet governments, starting wars despite the lack of evidence, and locking people away without access to legal consultation.