Pregnancy in the Military

Four Democratic senators have written a letter to an Army general in Iraq asking him to rescind an order that threatened to court martial female soldiers who become pregnant while deployed in the war zone. The policy by Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo III was instituted on Nov. 4, but it has triggered outrage among women's groups since it became publicly known in recent days.

"We can think of no greater deterrent to women contemplating a military career than the image of a pregnant woman being severely punished simply for conceiving a child," the senators wrote to Cucolo today. "This defies comprehension. As such, we urge you to immediately recind this policy."

The letter was signed by Sens. Barbara Boxer of California, Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.

It was the latest salvo to hit Cucolo over the controvesial policy. Earlier the National Organization for Women called the policy "ridiculous."

I saw this the other day but refrained from commentating as I just KNEW some shit head like Boxer would open her yap on the wrong side of this issue. She rarely disappoints. The idea of four middle-aged moronic former housewives who have no experience in the military OR in business, telling the army how to run things is so disgusting it makes me want to vomit.

Umm...nobody wants to punish you for "simply conceiving a child", you moron. You are being punished for violating the terms of your service. You know, the terms that give you all sorts of free shit like college tuition, housing, food, medical care. All that stuff you agreed to when you joined the VOLUNTEER army.

Just another sign that this great country has seen its best days and only twilight lies ahead. When this type of PC bullshit infests our armed services, then the final collapse can't be far behind. We saw it earlier in the year when a bunch of Fort Hood soldiers were shot by one of their own. We allow 21-year-old kids to fly $50 million fighter jets but don't trust them to carry a loaded gun.

Fucked up.

So, Senator Barbara Douchebag Boxer, this is no different than the stupid laws you pass allowing employers to drug test their employees. It is no different that the model who has a weight clause in her million-dollar contract. You can have all the kids you want once you are out of the combat zone. Until then, keep off the cock or take advantage of the abortion services offered. End of story.

Winner of the Decade Is.....

In a small vindication for long-suffering gold bugs, Bloomberg's chart of the day brings a decade of false gains, paper pro(phe)ts, and the inflation/deflation debate to a close.

As the chart demonstrates, "A $100 investment in gold would now be more than $380 while the same sum in commodities would have grown to about $357, according to the Standard & Poor's GSCI Enhanced Total Return Index." To the chagrin of stock pumping, Philadelphia majority-owned cable stations, stock investors lost $10 in the decade.

But next decade will surely be different, see: The Fed is gone, Chairman Ben is no longer at the helm, money is not being printed as if Cottonelle was going out of style, the US is done raking up trillions in deficits and punting the resolution of the fiscal budget mystery to the next administration, we are no longer reliant on China to finance our ultra-short term day to day existence, Goldman is no longer viceroy of this quadrant of the Milky Way Galaxy... oh wait...

Nevermind.

And for all the pomp and circumstance of Private Equity, of Hedge Funds, of fast, loose and easy money, the simplest commodity known to man clearly "out-thought" five business school generations of the smartest men in the room, whose financial weapons of mass destruction brought nothing to the world than the abyss of systemic collapse. It does kinda put things into perspective.

From Zerohedge.com

Gunmen Kill Family of Other Gunman

Gunmen mowed down the family of a Mexican marine just hours after the military honored him as a national hero for losing his life during a raid that took down powerful drug kingpin Arturo Beltran Leyva.

The brazen attack happened shortly before midnight Monday at the home of fallen marine Melquisedet Angulo in the town of Paraiso in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco, police said.

Hit men linked to Beltran Leyva's cartel have a strong presence in the state and are believed to be behind the slayings of Angulo's mother, his two siblings and his aunt, federal officials said Tuesday. Another unidentified woman was being treated at a hospital for unspecified wounds.

President Felipe Calderon called the attack "a cowardly act" and vowed to press forward with his nationwide drug fight involving more than 45,000 troops.

Ah yes, this is all so much better than making it legal for people like me to buy a plant at the store and ingest it in the privacy of my home. Like cabbage.

Let's see: the cops love the war on drugs since it gives them all kinds of power and money from illegal civil asset forfeitures and the criminals love it because they get 10 times more for their drugs. I still don't see the benefit to the average Boobus Americanus.

I hope all the religious pricks who rail against the evils of drugs (while guzzling holy wine) are happy with the blood on their hands.

All I Want for Xmas...

Credit Cards

This rant has been building for years. It started with the $4.00 magazines at the airport. It grew larger with the $2.00 sodas at the 7-11. It nearly bubbled over two months ago with the $1.90 shower curtain liner in the Walmart "speedy checkout" line. It finally boiled over last night at the movie theater with a $1.50 Pepsi.

I'm talking about the cocksucker motherfuckers who pull out their credit cards for any and all transactions. Cans of coke, magazines, cigarettes and all other manner of sub-$20 purchases being put on the plastic. It enrages me to no end.

"But Matt! It's a debit card! It's not the same thing!"

Fuck you. To the guy standing behind you with a $20 bill, it is exactly the same thing. The same digging around in the purse or pocket, the same running of plastic through the slot 2 or 3 times when it doesn't take. The same stare of idiocy as the purchaser tries to figure out which button to push and how to use the electronic pen. It is all the same: a big inconsiderate "fuck you" to everyone else in line.

Oh - and you are paying an extra 3% for your little game. Not to mention that your trough of sugary drink or your cancer stick will be consumed before you get home. That payment last a lot longer, however. You're so completely brain dead, you are carrying a balance on that card at 20% for the next 6 years...effectively paying triple for that item you just bought.

I know the stupid sheep listen to the Visa Debit Card commercials that show a parade of consumers moving through the checkout with Swiss-watch like precision until the cash-bearing asshole screws it all up.

Wake up. The government would love nothing more than a cashless society, and you shit heads are making it happen, one Big Gulp at a time.

A cashless society means Uncle Sucker will see everything you do. No more gambling, whores or coke because there is now no way to pay for it. All illegal activity will have to be bartered for. All income will be recorded, no matter how minor. Plastic cards and fingerprints will be the only way to shove around electronic digits and the government will know about every single one of them.

Of course, banks will also get their 3%. Of everything.

So keep buying magazines and cigarettes with credit cards, you fucking assholes. You are digging your own graves. There is no doubt in my mind this will be the case within 20 years. Yet another reason to own gold.

Person of the Year

"Mr. Bernanke, an academic who has never worked a single day in his life. He will take anything off a cliff: a business, a McDonald's stand, the Federal Reserve. And I have to say I have a certain sympathy for him as a character. He's ok, but completely useless. I would not even hire him as my butler...Mr Bernanke is a madman, a destroyer of the value of money. And he is a wealth destroyer and an economic criminal. It is the duty of a central bank to keep the value of money. I believe today for ninety percent of Americans life is harder than it was in 1999. Basically I think they are a bunch of crooks."

-- Marc Faber

Prince Sleeps on Street - Nothing Changes

A cold alley in central London is a far cry from a palace — but it was the spot Prince William chose to sleep to highlight the plight of British homeless.

He spent a chilly night near Blackfriars Bridge last week with Seyi Obakin, the chief executive of British homeless charity Centrepoint. William has been the charity's patron since 2005.

"I cannot, after one night, even begin to imagine what it must be like to sleep rough on London's streets night after night," William said Tuesday. "Poverty, mental illness, drug and alcohol dependancy and family breakdown cause people to become and then stay homeless.

"I hope that by deepening my understanding of the issue, I can help do my bit to help the most vulnerable on our streets."

Ahhh.....truly a son of Princess Di. Running around making grand gestures that do absolutely nothing while holding onto the royal billions.

I love the old "deepening my understanding of the issue" bullshit. Celebrities here in the U.S. use it all the time, then they run back to their million dollar parties with $250,000 of floral arrangements that will be thrown out in two days (Elton John anyone?)

Why does Great Britain worship these morons so much? I find nothing more distasteful than showing respect and deference to a bunch of inbred morons who are famous because (a) they can trace their family tree back centuries and (b) they pillaged the serfs and now life high on the hog because of it.

Then you have the idiot Dad yammering about global warming but taking a private jet to Copenhagen. I think he's the only one who is a bigger hypocrite than Al Gore.

Why don't you fucks sell the Crown jewels and your 604-room palace and give it all to charity? Because you are useless hypocritical fops.

Does Cretin Country have any British readers out there? How do you people put up with them? Do they bring in a lot of tourist dollars or something? They are totally fucking useless. I can't stand it.

I'm also sick of the notion that homelessness just "happened" to these poor unfortunate souls. A huge number of them have substance abuse problems. They have had chance after chance to get it together - usually with publicly funded help - and they go right back to the bottle. Fuck em. If you don't care about yourself, how the fuck am I going to help?