Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The Deuce And The Royal Wedding

Prince William, grandson of Britain's current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, is getting hitched this Friday. The bride to be is commoner Catherine Middleton.

Who cares? Depends on who you ask. CBS says interest is 'stoked' in the U.S., while the New York Times says it's a
'yawner'. In any event, all the major TV networks in the U.S. will be covering the wedding live, beginning at four A.M. EDT. It would take the second coming to get me up at that hour. On the other hand, I could be induced to stay up till then if the party was rockin'.

You can guess who cares. Women. 58% of American women are 'very or somewhat interested, or following news of the wedding.' Meanwhile, fully 50% of American men are not following the coming nuptials at all. Big surprise, I know.

For centuries men have not cared about the nuts and bolts of their own weddings, much less someone elses. Men say, 'Do we really have to go through this? Just tell me when and where', while women famously obsess about the minutest details, giving birth to the reality show Bridezillas, where perfectly normal looking women have multiple psychotic breakdowns because their centerpieces don't coordinate with the color of the tile in the ladies room. It drives would-be grooms to drink, often right up to the minute they step to the alter, and brings the sanity of brides into serious doubt.

The Deuce, surprisingly, is 'somewhat' interested in the royal wedding. Why, you ask? Well, first of all it's being held in Westminster Abbey, one of the most historical buildings in western civilization. Established in 1065, Westminster Abbey has been the sight of royal coronations and weddings, and the funerals and burial place of England's most iconic people, including Geoffrey Chaucer, Issac Newton and Charles Darwin.

If you care at all about history a chance to see Westminster Abbey is not to be missed.



Secondly, the Deuce loves military pomp. Royal weddings bring out the Scots Guards who escort the royal couple to Westminster Abbey, marching in their famous red coats and bear skin hats. Being an old Army guy, I admire military precision in marching and the Scots Guards marching is a hell of a show.



And there's bagpipes! Tradition says the bagpipe was invented by lonely soldiers far from home who missed the high pitched squeals, squawks and grating chords of their wive's voices.



The rest of the wedding hoopla can go begging as far as I'm concerned. Don't care about the ring, the gown or the guests and where they sit, although it's interesting that Obama wasn't invited. I guess Obama returning that bust of Winston Churchill to Queen Elizabeth didn't go over too well. However, with William's younger brother Prince Harry in charge of the reception, that could be entertaining. Harry likes to party. Don't think the reception will be televised. Too bad.



Maybe Sports Center will have some highlights I can watch.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Mr. Quarter's Opinion on Inequality

Inequality, or rather economic inequality comprises all disparities in the distribution of economic assets and income. A major and continuing complaint by liberals is that conservative ideology promotes economic inequality. Where in the Bill of Rights or any other amendment to the U.S. Constitution is a grant of equality of economic assets and income to all citizens of the United States? No where.

Citizens of the United States are accorded a number of rights intended to allow the pursuit of happiness and prosperity. Failure to pursue happiness and prosperity or, alternatively, declining to do so is also a right of the United States Citizen. What is not a guaranteed right in the United States Constitution is happiness and prosperity.

Likewise, there is no constitutional basis for the confiscation of economic assets and income with the intent of redistribution of said wealth for the purpose of relieving economic inequality. Those smart enough, ambitious enough, or just plain lucky enough to possess economic assets and income in excess of their needs are entitled to keep it. The United States Constitution tasks the federal government with only the duty of providing for the common defense and general welfare. You will note that the federal government is not tasked with providing for the individual welfare.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

The Deuce And Cowardice

cowardice [ˈkaʊədɪs]
noun
lack of courage in facing danger, pain, or difficulty


I'm convinced that God hates cowards...or, if God is incapable of hatred, maybe he just really, really dislikes them. I'm not God, so I'm free to hate them. And if hate is a sin, I'll settle up with God at His convenience.

Two news stories caught my eye this week, but not for the same reasons the stories caught the eye of the media who reported them. That's telling, I think.

The first was this one. An eight year old boy threw a temper tantrum at school. He tossed some chairs and a TV stand, then ripped some loose wood trim off the wall and threatened to beat his two teachers with it. His two teachers, probably women though the news reports don't say so, reacted in a way that would have made Joan of Arc proud...they locked themselves in an office and called the police. Seriously. Two adult women fled in fear of their lives from an eight year old with a stick. And no, the kid's name isn't Chucky.

The police responded, no doubt with a S.W.A.T team, and confronted the stick-wielding unholy terror (news reports don't say if guns were drawn during the confrontation with the crazed stickman). Police demanded the little miscreant drop the illegal assault stick. The boy refused, clearly evidence he was high on Ritalin, also known as the "angel dust" of suburban elementary schools. Always mindful of the possibility of a video camera being present and not wanting to get caught in a "Rodney King" moment, the cops were forced to resort to their "less lethal" weaponry and pepper sprayed the suspect. The alleged stickman dropped his weapon and was taken into custody.

One real adult could of grabbed the little twerp by his ear, lifted him up on his tip-toes and dragged him to the Principal's office for an old fashioned paddling. Instead, it gets turned into a federal case because of the cowardice of two grown women. Oh, don't give me the "if they touch the kid they could get sued" b.s. Fear of a law suit is just another display of cowardice. As for the cops, I guess they thought their department policy on the use of force applied to any violent offender regardless of age or size.

In any event the whole episode was pathetic, and says a lot about the state of American womanhood.

The second story is to me even more alarming.

A man was walking to his car in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium in L.A. with two friends after watching his team, the San Francisco Giants lose to the Dodgers. He was wearing Giant gear. The three men were accosted by two men in Dodger clothing. The Giant fan was attacked and beaten severely and was later hospitalized with a fractured skull. He is currently in a medically induced coma with a chunk of his skull missing after doctors removed it to relieve swelling of the brain. He is showing signs of brain damage. The two attackers are still at large.

There were several witnesses, all telling the same story. The attack was unprovoked, there were no weapons seen, and the man's two "friends" ran away leaving him to his fate. They ran away.

The Giants fans had a three to two advantage over their attackers. The attackers neither brandished or used any weapons. And the two buddies ran away, leaving their friend to be beaten nearly to death.

Cowards. Just that simple.