Post from: Muckmakers.com

The Flying Spaghetti Monster, Cthulhu, and a Trampoline

With an eye-catching title like that, you may have been expecting some sort of metaphor or deep poetry at work here, but no, there’s just this awesome tea/coffee cup with the cutest picture of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and Cthulhu jumping of a trampoline I’ve seen all week on it.

As a skeptic, sci-fi nerd, and big fan of religious parody, I wholeheartedly approve. My friend Kenna paints cups like this by hand, and this one in particular is for sale along with several others, so check out her Etsy shop if you’re so inclined. She does accept customer orders, but I don’t think I can think of anything more awesome or random to paint on a porcelain cup.

(Yes, I know this is completely off-topic. No, I don’t care…it’s fucking Flying Spaghetti Monster and Cthulhu on a goddamn trampoline. STFU.)

Post from: Muckmakers.com

News for 4/28

A nod to an old CNN article from 2003, in which George Bush said the following:

War crimes will be prosecuted, war criminals will be punished and it will be no defense to say, “I was just following orders.”

Ah, irony.

Speaking of ironic, apparently there are a good number of conservatives who think Colbert is actually a conservative.

Additionally, there was no significant difference between the groups in thinking Colbert was funny, but conservatives were more likely to report that Colbert only pretends to be joking and genuinely meant what he said while liberals were more likely to report that Colbert used satire and was not serious when offering political statements. Conservatism also significantly predicted perceptions that Colbert disliked liberalism.

On a totally unrelated note, after being robbed by people using the traditional Muslim veil, a jewelery store has decided to turn away anyone in the veils.

One typical response..

Just because two guys did a crime and they were dressed up in that kind of outfit you can’t prejudice everyone else.

Oh – but you can. How many jewelery stores would let me in with a ski mask on? If I claim the ski mask is tradition in my silly little religion, can I wear it then?

Post from: Muckmakers.com

Bravo, Facepuncher

I don’t think we’ve ever done this before, but I’d like to draw your attention to a post on Reddit.com that I read this afternoon and, literally, nearly sprayed my monitor with the Mountain Dew I was attempting to drink. The post, in my opinion, is perfect. Short, to the point, funny, and true. Here it is:

Dear parents of cheerleaders who got their playmate coach fired: The coach posed nude for money. Your daughters get drunk and have actual intercourse with the football team for free. Discuss.

I highly recommend following the comment stream as well, which can be found here.

Post from: Muckmakers.com

And We Shall Call It: Colbert

Via: MSNBC

NASA made a big mistake when they allowed write-in votes for their contest to name the new room at the international space station. Why is this a mistake? Because of one man – Stephen Colbert.

With his word, more than 200,000 people took to the NASA site, and wrote in “Colbert” as their vote for the new name, and they won – by around 40,000 votes.

Granted, NASA reserves the right to select a new name, but this is still downright hilarious. Ah, the power of the inter-tubes.

Post from: Muckmakers.com

Brits Feeling the Self-Esteem Pressure

It looks as though the American approach to kissing your child’s ass, and demanding that their teacher does the same has already been exported to Britain, and some are none too thrilled.

Via: BBC News

Dr Carol Craig said children were being over-praised and were developing an “all about me” mentality.

She said teachers increasingly faced complaints from parents if their child failed a spelling test or did not get a good part in the school pantomime.

Schools needed to reclaim their role as educators, not psychologists, she said.

Once you’re done giggling at the phrase “school pantomime” I will continue.

…

Alright then, on we go.

In essence, I’m in total agreement with Dr Carol Craig. Pandering to the whims of 12 year olds and actually apologizing to parents because their kid did poorly on a test is toeing the line of insanity.

Now, Craig does go on to say that the schools need to back off the social teaching and let the parents handle that. Here’s where I go back and forth a bit. Ideally, I would agree with her. However, I’m of the opinion that if a kid’s social development is completely left up to the parents, we’ll constantly have a nation of rednecks, system leeches, and generally shitty individuals.

Know that guy that cut you off in rush hour traffic this morning, and then gave you the finger? Do we really think that he should be completely responsible for teaching his kid how to behave in society? I have to lean towards no.

As with most things, I don’t believe this is a “yes” or “no” answer. The best option lies somewhere in the middle, but finding that sweet spot is always complicated.

Oh, as a quick side note: Stop having children. Please.

Post from: Muckmakers.com

More Awesome Cops

Via Yahoo News:

DENVER – A good Samaritan who helped push three people out of the path of a pickup truck before being struck and injured has gotten a strange reward for his good deed: A jaywalking ticket.

Family members said 58-year-old bus driver Jim Moffett and another man were helping two elderly women cross a busy Denver street in a snowstorm when he was hit Friday night.

Annnnddd…

Via KCTV5:

Donald A. Devens, 59, of Smithville, Mo., changed his plea from not guilty to guilty in October and told the judge that he was guilty of obstruction of justice because he altered the video from his patrol car dash camera that showed him kicking and punching, Wesley A. Lewis in a 2005 arrest.

So, we have cops passing out a jaywalking ticket to someone who shoved two old ladies out of the way of a truck, and then we have another cop who admits to (a) assaulting someone and then (b) tampering with the evidence of the assault in an attempt to hide it, and he gets… probation. Probation? Really? Can I kick and punch someone in handcuffs, lie about it, tamper with evidence, and get off with just probation?

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Some Good News

Via PlanetSave:

…former officer Patrick Pogan, 23, has been arraigned under charges of falsifying records. We’ve now learned that he has plead not guilty to the charges in Manhattan court and could face up to 4 years in prison if convicted.

Pogan has already been fired by the NYPD. Or he quit, depending on who you believe. The Police Dept claims they fired him. His attorney claims that he resigned. Whatever – he’s not a cop any longer, and that’s all that matters.

I love that access to technology and the power of the internet brought a meathead cop who decided to abuse his power a bit of what he deserves. Hopefully, after a few more cases like this, we’ll have less incidents of abuse of power.

Post from: Muckmakers.com

PETA Killed 1,815 Animals in 2007

Via PETA Kills Animals and the state of Virginia (for you non-belivers)

From July 1998 through December 2007, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) killed over 19,200 dogs, cats, and other “companion animals.” That’s more than five defenseless creatures every day. PETA has a walk-in freezer to store the dead bodies, and contracts with a Virginia Beach company to cremate them.

Not counting the pets PETA spayed and neutered, the group put to death over 90 percent of the animals it took in during the last five years. And its angel-of-death pattern shows no sign of changing.

Now, I can’t help but wonder how the PETA members that protest shelters that euthanize animals can square this one away. How can you possibly be a member of a group that protests when other people do the same exact thing that your group does in its own shelters?

Also, I wonder if knowing this fact would keep anyone from donating to PETA. What good do they do if a dog or cat brought to them has only a 10% chance of being adopted, and a 90% chance of being euthanized? The MuckMakers team can probably achieve a one in ten adoption rate – how the hell can PETA not do better than that?

I need to take a look at recent tax documents for them, because now I’m curious where exactly the millions in donations go. I’m assuming that it’s mainly for comercials, other ads, and KKK costumes.

Post from: Muckmakers.com

Crazy Octuplet Leech

In case the headline didn’t give it away, I feel that Nadya Suleman is a crazy bitch who is leeching the system and generally bringing us one step closer to Idiocracy.

Not only could she already not support the six kids she had due to artificial insemination, she then decided to go and become artificially impregnated yet again. Just out of the original six, three are disabled and receiving benefits. Now, I’m not saying that disabled children shouldn’t receive benefits. What I am saying is this: What the fuck did you think was going to happen when you attempt to pop out this many kids in rapid fire?

If I buy a motorcycle, throw away my helmet, and do 110 down the interstate and get in an accident, no one should be responsible for the mess that would follow but… me.

Likewise, if you decide (and yes, it is a decision) to have four-fucking-teen children, you’re on your own.

Conversely – if you are both emotionally and financially capable of caring for 14 children, more power to you. This woman, clearly, is not.

Post from: Muckmakers.com

Call Me Debbie Downer

As I made the rounds this evening after work, I couldn’t help but notice that there’s almost nothing but bad news going on right now. Here’s a quick recap of the stories I came across:

A record 19 million U.S. homes stood empty at the end of 2008 and homeownership fell to an eight-year low as banks seized homes faster than they could sell them.

The number of vacant homes climbed 6.7 percent in the fourth quarter from the same period a year ago, the U.S. Census Bureau said in a report today. The share of empty homes that are for sale rose to 2.9 percent, the most in data that goes back to 1956. The homeownership rate fell to 67.5 percent, matching the rate in the first quarter of 2001.

Via Bloomberg

If you have a stable income (sadly a rare thing these days) and have a clean credit history, now is very clearly the time to buy a home. However, it also means there’s more people being put out than ever before in recent history. I do feel for those who lost their home because of losing their job due to corporate downsizing. Those who overextended themselves, and bought homes that were far more expensive than they could actually affording? Well… this “bleeding heart” gets a bit more cold in your direction. In fact, you’re a large part of the problem.

Speaking of downsizing…

Macy’s Inc. announced Monday that it will eliminate 7,000 jobs, almost 4 percent of its work force, and cut capital spending, reduce its contributions to its employees’ retirement funds and slash its dividend to preserve cash amid a severe pullback in consumer spending.

Via MSNBC

The vicious cycle continues. Consumer spending drops, corporations let people go in order to cut spending, 7,000 largely middle class workers lose their jobs, driving spending further down… you see where this is going.

The U.S. Army said the number of soldiers who committed suicide last year has increased for a fourth straight year. Army officials said despite an increase in funding for programs to help soldiers, they are having a hard time fighting the stigma attached to seeking professional help.

Via VOA News

And to top it all off, the people we claim to support and love while sending them into harm’s way are offing themselves more and more each year. I’m sure it would be “coincidence” if that turns around in 2009 with a Democrat in office.