Wednesday Coffee Talk
Here is another slew of stories you ought not miss from today's current events.1. Holy Crap! That's all I have to say about this story. Remind me never to need blood in Russia, 'kay?
2. Using your finger to open doors and pay bills? I don't know. Call me old fashioned, but this kinda makes me nervous. Maybe it is the idea of random businesses having databases filled with my personal information.
3. The Supreme Court has decided that the Feds can take your Social Security benefits to repay your student loans. This is a ruling I can get behind! Take some personal responsibility, people!
4. The Al-Terror Network aired another al Qaeda tape yesterday. But now they have had to admit that it wasn't a new tape, but the unedited version of a tape from September. This has led me to the following questions and conclusions:
a. Al Jazeera really is on the side of the terrorists if they would pull this kind of stunt. So much for impartial reporting.
b. Al Qaeda must really be on the ropes if they can't even draft a new message but must resort to recycling the old tirades.
c. Bin Laden might really have snuffed it. We haven't seen any of his ugly mug in long enough, that I'm beginning to wonder. Al Qaeda would never admit to his death, because they'd get the same reaction from the Arab Street that Saddam got when they pulled him from his spider hole -- "you mean the earthquake got him? He wasn't martyred? He didn't go out in a blaze of bullets and glory? What a joke."
5. The Supreme Court is hearing arguments on an issue of having your cake and eating it too. A large group of Law Schools have their panties in a bunch over the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy in the military and the requirement of allowing military recruiters on campus if you want federal bucks. The Law Schools feel that if they don't like what they consider to be a discriminatory policy to gays and lesbians, they shouldn't have to permit the recruiters on campus. They feel that this is a free speech issue. However, they also feel that Congress's law that says, "fine, don't welcome them on campus, but say buh-bye to the payola" isn't fair, that it essentially restricted the schools from disapproving.
All of which is crap, of course. The fact of the matter is, they don't have any trouble getting up on that high horse, just lots of trouble eating at McDonald's instead of Charlie Trotters. If you believe in something forcefully, no price tag can deter you from your cause. Simply put, they want to have their cake and eat it too. Nobody is saying that they can't distance themselves from military recruiters by denying them access. They just have to give up the paycheck. If they aren't willing to give up the paycheck, well then, they must allow recruiters on campus, but still don't have to do much more. They can protest, they can speak, they can bloody well do as they wish, pretty much.
You'd have to be an idiot not to see the holes in their argument. It is total crap. Either you have the courage of your convictions to the tune of $100 million, ...or you don't have the courage of your convictions.
