Category: Thors Day Rant
THOR’S DAY RANT: Stolen Valor, or Infringed Speech?
Written by Troglodad
Thursday, 22 July 2010 15:16
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Let me preface this rant by declaring I am a veteran of the USAF (1990-1994) but that I have no combat awards, medals, etc other than the Nat'l Defense Medal given just for being on Active Duty during a conflict.

So I was watching Fox News this morning and they have this schmuck on TV whining about how a Court ruled the "Stolen Valor Act" is unconstitutional. Stolen Valor? WTH?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolen_Valor_Act_of_2005

Apparently, this law was passed in 2005 and makes it a Federal Misdemeanor to lie about military awards. Indirectly. Under the act, it is illegal for unauthorized persons to wear, buy, sell, barter, trade or manufacture "any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the armed forces of the United States, or any of the service medals or badges awarded to the members of such forces." (-Wiki)
WTF?

What's next? Are we going to criminalize women lying about their age or weight? Make it a crime to lie to women in bars about your marital status, what car you drive or your profession?

Whiney-ass this morning on TV felt that liars cheapen the awards. He was upset that his fallen comrade in arms never got to see their awards- they were posthumously given.

Hey, dumbass, heroes don't do it for the glory.

I absolutely can't stand jackasses that have to rub it in everybody's face they were a Navy SEAL, or they have a purple heart, etc. etc. I'm not saying they shouldn't have been given an award, but let's be brutally honest. Medal of Honor winners didn't charge machine gun nests thinking "Damn, this medal is going to look AWESOME on my uniform!" No, they did what had to be done out of selfless heroism. And anyone who brags about their medals is a complete ass.

Think about it this way, Mr. Medal-Winning-Whiney-Ass. You are bragging about how you killed people and got a shiny award for it. God forbid someone else claimed to be a killer just to get some bling. Maybe you should think about why anyone brags about something like that. Heroes don't brag. Heroes tend to stay mum on the subject. It's attention-seeking punks that brag- whether the source of bragging is true or not.

Is it despicable to lie about military service? Yes. It is. We veterans- whether or not we won any awards- sacrificed our freedoms and liberties, and some, their lives, to ensure the freedoms and liberties of all Americans. Liberties like freedom of speech.

Those who went above and beyond were given awards, not to wave around and brag with, but as thanks for exemplary duty. Anyone who rubs such an award- earned, or imagined- in your face cheapens all award winners.

Society is full of people with inferiority complexes. They hang plastic testicles on their trucks. They wear flashy jewelry. They stick their noses in the air. These are all indicators of people desperate to make you believe they are better than you. Precisely because deep down, they don't believe it themselves. But do we really need to criminalize people who try to make themselves feel better? Isn't the fact they know they are liars enough? Yes, it's wrong they claim to have saved lives, but short of making the claim to commit some kind of fraud, do we really need to pass judgment on them? Surely our judgment won't be as bad as the judgment they've already passed on themselves.

Maybe Mr. I-got-a-bronze-star-and-you-didn't should think more about his fallen comrades, and be thankful he isn't one of them, then trying to get people locked up for self-aggrandizing lies.

This whole story reminds me of a classic military saying: "There are old pilots, and bold pilots, but no old, bold pilots."

I guess next, we'll start going after all those "ninjas" running around.

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Posted By Troglodad to Troglodad at 7/22/2010 02:51:00 PM

 
THOR’S DAY RANT: Wait 4 Independance Day, you jerks!
Written by Troglodad
Thursday, 01 July 2010 23:27
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All you idiots out there with fireworks, itching to make some noise- wait until Saturday. Some of us have work tomorrow morning.

I mean, cmon! It's Thursday night, I'm sound asleep by 10:30 PM, and BOOM! I get woke up by frickin' cannon fire next door. What the hell?!

First off, things like roman candles are only legal if set off by an adult on their private property. Standing in the middle of the road to amuse your guests is illegal. And it pisses me off. I was trying to sleep.

You want blow your fingers off and make some noise? Awesome. But let's wait until Saturday and Sunday to do it it. Independance Day is July 4th, you dumbasses.

 
THOR’S DAY RANT: Land of the Free?
Written by Troglodad
Thursday, 03 June 2010 14:15
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Freedom is what they say so many soldiers died for. Freedom, or Liberty, is what the Founding Fathers wanted so desperately to obtain from England. But is this really a free country?

I read a very disturbing article today that sounded like something right out of a communist nation: it's illegal to videorecord police officers on duty in 12 states.
When it becomes a crime to report a crime, you know things are screwed up. As critics of these police-protection laws say, if you could record non-police in a public area, why can't you record the police?

This is a dangerous trend, and a tremendous loss of freedom. Are we really a land of the free?

I suppose for all the illegal immigrants coming in, it is a land of the free. Free healthcare, free schooling for their kids. Tax-free wages. But what about the rest of us? What freedoms do we enjoy in the United States that aren't enjoyed elsewhere in the world?

People here like to declare "America: Love it or Leave it." But is it really that simple? What if your name got put on a no-fly list? Guess you won't be flying out. Can't afford a license for your boat? Guess you won't be sailing out. Can't afford an ID card, guess you can't walk out (you need an ID to enter Canada or Mexico). Could you swim out? Would it be possible to brave the coastal waters of the United States? The Coast Guard would probably stop you if you tried, because very few people can swim a frickin' ocean.

So you're stuck in the land of the free. What can you do here you can't anywhere else?

Can you own a home? If you get approved for a loan. Or maybe inherit a bunch of money. Or save your money for years and years and then pay cash. Those are some big "ifs".

Can you drive a car? Assuming you could afford one, that is. Well, you can drive a car- if you register it, get licensed, and follow the rules. Driving a car "is a privilege, not a right" they like to tell you in Driver's Education.

Rights? There's the bill of rights- part of our constitution. Like the Freedom of Speech, the Right to Assemble, or Right to Bear Arms. Oh, wait, that Arms-thing only applies to militias. Or you have to have a permit if you leave your private property in some states. Assembly? Well, I suppose you can always meet your pals at the mall- assuming no curfew has been established due to some emergency. But if you want to protest, you have to have a permit. Freedom of Speech? You can talk to yourself as much as you like, but try posting something on the internet, or shouting out in public, and there are laws that limit what you can and can't say.

Are you free to die? Maybe not. Congress and Nobama recently passed a Healthcare Act requiring you to have medical insurance (not free insurance- no, it's a mandate you buy insurance). That sounds to me like the government can force you to stay alive, hooked to machines, getting medicines pumped into you. Then again, maybe it's the Freedom to Live they don't like- their National Healthcare could easily result in involuntary cessation of treatments. Against your will.

So what is free? Well, we're sure free to suffer at the hands of our new, hopey-changey, socialist government. No, wait, we're not. That would imply we have a choice. The devilcrats don't make any bones about it- you will comply, you will obey.

Are we Free to vote? We sure are. It's the one freedom that we still do have- as do many oppressed peoples around the world. Will this freedom be exercised? Will we exorcise ourselves of the blight of socialism this November? Our will we continue to let our liberties erode away?