“Things That Should Not Surprise Anyone (But Probably Will)”

I've been tagged by the Unforgiving Minute with a Meme (hot damn! first one...), the topic of which is: “Things That Should Not Surprise Anyone (But Probably Will)”.


1) Having a medical doctorate does not automatically imbue the receiver with wisdom, sagacity, compassion, or, most of all, common sense.

2) Spending $25,000 on a chromed-out Harley-Davidson that you ride on the weekends with your HOG friends doesn't make one a biker.

3) Buying a $2000 customized handgun doesn't confer god-like handling and accuracy skills upon the operator.

4) Equality of medical care does not equal quality medical care.

5) Being wealthy, "social elite", and in the legislature does not make guarantee any relation to informed, reasonable, or practical legislation.

The Saudi Morals Police: Keeping You Safe From Witchcraft Since 1926

RIYADH, 25 March 2007 — The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice is Saudi Arabia’s morality police. Its members roam the streets day and night looking for offenders of morality from both sexes. They randomly enter malls, restaurants and local and private establishments to enforce proper moral conduct. They also have the power to close shops during prayer times and asking people to attend prayers in mosques. In addition, they enforce the rule of gender segregation in public areas — with the exception of malls and hospitals. They also have the authority of confiscating material which they consider inappropriate to the Kingdom’s moral values. This material includes a wide variety of books and photos, pornographic material, sculptures, etc.

Hmm...shades of Monty Python:

NOBODY expects the SpanishIslamic Inquisition! Our chief weapon is surprise...surprise and fear...fear and surprise.... Our two weapons are fear and surprise...and ruthless efficiency.... Our *three* weapons are fear, surprise, and ruthless efficiency...and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope Prophet.... Our *four*...no... *Amongst* our weapons.... Amongst our weaponry...are such elements as fear, surprise....

Q: What is the commission doing to catch sorcerers in Saudi cities. And what is their fate after they are caught? Could you tell us how many of them were caught this year and their locations? And what about the magic spells that are thrown into the Red Sea? How are these spells broken?

A: The commission plays a large role in capturing people who practice sorcery or delusions since these are vices which affect the faith of Muslims and cause harm to both nationals and expatriates. The commission has assigned centers in every city and town to be on the lookout for these men. As for their fate, they are arrested and then transferred to concerned authorities. The commission also has a role in breaking magic spells, which are found in the sea. We cooperate with divers in this aspect. After the spells are found, they are then broken using recitations of the Holy Qur’an. We do not use magic to break magic spells, as this is against the teachings of Islam as mentioned by the Supreme Ulema. But we use the Qur’an as did the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

Once again, shades of Monty Python.

Direct to you from the cradle of Islam, via Arab News, The Middle East's Leading English Language Daily.

hat tip to Maverick News Media

Sunday Ugly Gun Post

This week, I present to you the companion piece to last week's ugly gun. Now, Dymphna at Gates Of Vienna has made the point that last week's gun wasn't really ugly, it more a matter of testosterone warping my aesthetic appreciation. Bowing down to the generally superior sense of fashion women have, I submit the Hello Kitty Personal Defense Pistol.

A Public Disservice

I recently read a post by Micheal Yon about his being evicted from his quarters in Iraq in his post here.

I sometimes think we have some high-ranking officers that don't don't give a damn about if we win this war; what's important is that they have absolute control over their particular fiefdoms, Lord and Master of all they survey. I was often told in the Guard that shit rolls downhill. After reading about the good Brigadier General Vincent K. Brooks, it's apparent that individual turds sometimes float to the top.

I'm doubtful that it will help, but I wrote and emailed this after reading Mr. Yon's dispatch:

Dear Senator xxxxxxxxxx:

I'm writing to you as a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2003-2004. I served with the 109th Medical Battalion near Mosul and at LSA Anaconda near Baghdad during that time. Those experiences brought home to me how different the reporting on the war can be from what is being experienced by the troops on the ground.

One of the best sources of information on our military units in Iraq, Michael Yon, is being denied access to facilities needed to deliver stories on the daily events occurring there. Mr Yon has covered various regions and units in Iraq, funded only with his own resources and donations from the readers of his website. The resulting reports have given our citizens a look at the military operations and living conditions at the soldiers level, rather than canned reports from journalists who rarely leave the security of their Green Zone accomadations. His reporting has been widely compared to famed World War II journalist Ernie Pyle for his willingness to place himself at risk to report the stories of our service members in the field.

Unfortunately, Brigadier General Vincent K. Brooks, who used to be the Chief of Public Affairs, has decided that Mr. Yon's reporting is not acceptable to him. Thus, he has evicted him from the small trailer used as a secure area to store the cameras, computers, and other personally purchased equipment. Internet access, essential to independly posting reports, is no longer allotted to him. He now scrapes by on the generosity of individuals willing to give him a few moments of access at random times to post his stories. This goes beyond being a disservice to one independent journalist. It denies our citizens a high quality source of information on current events, necessary to an informed opinion on one of the most important activities our nation is engaged in. As an example of this, please read one of his posts here:
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/tabula-rasa.htm

which demonstrates the value of his reporting.

I urge you to look into this. Mr. Yon provides a voice for our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen. He gives our citizens a set of eyes and ears on the ground so that we may know what our familiy members and friends are experiencing without being filtered through a military or civilian Public Relations agenda. He's worth far more than what he's asking: a small room with internet access.


Sincerely Yours,


X

I hope something reverses this situation. He's one of the few honest dealers of information we have.

More Fine Musical Selections

Only 13.5 hours of working on hearts today! What will I do with all this spare time? Once again, I wasn't allowed to touch the stereo system in the vascular lab. Thus, for the first few hours I got to listen to vintage '50's "Doo Wop". Personally, I think there's a lot of music from that era that's really good. Jerry Lee, Elvis (pre-fat), etc. But song after song of some guy singing in a falsetto, then hitting a bunch high notes like he's getting a prostate exam from Arsenio Hall gets old fast (if you can't tell why you don't want a guy like him on the giving side of a prostate exam, you've never had one). Later in the afternoon, I had a totally new music experience: Frankie Yankovic, the world's scariest looking accordian player. I associate polka music The Crusher, a professional wrestler out of Minnesota in the '80's who used it as theme music. Not with a physician screwing electrical leads into diseased heart tissue.

The time is coming: I will inflict my personal collection of Johnny Cash and Tool on the unappreciative masses in the lab. No complaints allowed.

Musical Torture

Worked 14 1/2 hours doing hearts (internal defibrillators/cardiac ablations) today. That's a long day, but tolerable anymore. What is soul-crushing however, is being forced to listen to the following soundtracks over those 14.5 hours:

Mary Poppins; The Music Man; various Elvis tracks (don't mind this, not that I own any); South Pacific...you know you're tired when "Gonna Wash That Man Outta My Hair" comes on and you start singing "gonna stomp that man right into the ground/gonna chain whip him for coming around" and announce you will be creating a new biker musical using all the melodies from South Pacific (Was forced to see this live starring Robert Goulet during my first marriage. Not conducive to happy thoughts, other than an old Saturday Night Live sketch featuring Will Ferrel as Robert Goulet, which gives me flashbacks to being drunk on Iraqi moonshine in a moldy tent, watching the sketch on a laptop with 14 other guys at the same time.); Grease.

I was able to shoehorn some Best of Santana in there for an hour to preserve my sanity. Also, I've had to listen to an approximately eight year old Ron Howard sing Gary, Indiana enough times that I permanently have a pathological hatred of that song. Tomorrow I will have to listen to much Hendrix(NSFW) to counteract the horrible feminizing effects.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

(h/t to The War On Guns)

A long time ago, I was a police reservist in a small town. I have a lot of sympathy for police trying to do their job, as they deal with a lot crap on a daily basis. It takes a lot not to become cynical, resentful, and generally fed up with humanity. However, being a gun owner, and a devout believer in "leave me the hell alone / don't screw with me & I won't screw with you" philosophy of life, I have no sympathy when those individuals with egos bigger than their brain abuse their badge. Extra points to the homeowner for unorthodox use of a taser.

It's good to know not all judges are convinced the Constitution is a "living document" open to local changes upon the judiciary's whim.