My very own I hate rant

I've seen these types of videos all over the internet about people just listing things they hate. Considering that I hate a ton of things and I that I love ranting, it's surprising that I don't have a video up myself yet.

Fear not. Here is a blog post dedicated to things I hate. These are just the ones that I can think of now, and there will probably be a few more later when I think of the rest. I know it's not a video but I'm kind of camera shy.

Here. We. Go.!

- I hate it when you pre-order something because you really want to get it the first day but then they don't actually ship it until the release date so you end up getting it after everyone else anyway. That shit should arrive at your door on release day. Now I just feel like I should have gone to a store and bought it. I've been waiting 11 years for StarCraft II, I think a pre-order should have the decency to arrive on release day. It's not like I'm rushing them or anything...

- I hate it when you make pasta and you want to strain it but you don't have a strainer so you use a plate or something to slowly let the water out and then everything gets really hot and you feel like you're going to spill all the pasta into your sink. That sucks.

- I hate this guy. He is like a walking cliché of what uneducated redneck Americans are like.

- I hate the expression  "I could care less" because what you really mean is "I couldn't care less."

- I hate people who say "I'm not religious, but I'm spiritual." They're not spiritual, they're pretentious.

- I hate when you order starters at a restaurant and they bring them at the same time as the food. I hate it even more when they ask you when you would like them to bring the starters. "Yes, I would like the starters as I'm walking out of the restaurant please."

- I hate investment bankers. While the profession itself is very necessary, it has the ability to bring out all the worst traits in people. Take a bunch of guys in their 20s who get paid craploads of money to be locked up in an office 20+ miserable hours a day constantly trying to act suave and get people to buy into deals. Now unleash them onto the public in their 1 hour of free time. The result is almost always a giant douchefest.

- I hate when rappers thank God at award ceremonies. It's like they don't know that God also saw them dealing smack and beating hookers.

- I hate Steve Jobs.

- I hate people who act like David Guetta songs are the most amazing things ever. They're fun and danceable yes. But like Deadmau5 said, "anyone can just play two songs at the same time." Besides, all he does is take hits from the 90s (aka songs that we know people already like) and add techno beats to them.

- I hate that Thursday night is the new Friday night because the whole point of going on Friday is that you don't have to work the next day. Going out Thursday is just like saying "let's see how tired, miserable, and unproductive I can be at work tomorrow!" Plus most of the time I go out Thursday I am so tired Friday afternoon that I stay in. Fail.

- I hate when girls tell you that you should just be friends. Because most of the time this happens you already are friends, and if they hadn't said anything, that's probably what would have happened anyway. Instead, it makes you feel like you weren't even friends to begin with. Lame.

- I hate famous for being famous.

- I hate that Barrack Obama didn't have a good president before him so that people could realize how incompetent he is.

- I hate Gambit. He is a terrible X-Man.

- I hate when people reply to your negative comments on Youtube videos saying "if you don't like [XYZ] then why would you comment on it??" The answer to that question is "because I want people to know that I don't like [XYZ]..." It's very simple, really.

- I hate it when Asian people talk a lot of shit about how they're going to kick my ass in Super Smash Brothers before they've ever played me, because I've never actually been beaten by an Asian at SSB (this is fact). Have they ever seen White Men Can't Jump?

- I hate bathroom attendants! What on earth is the purpose of these people? I've been going to the bathroom and subsequently washing my hands since I was an infant.. do I really need someone to do it for me? It's not even luxurious or anything. It's not like if you came out of a pool and a hot Swedish model was there to dry you off. It's usually some creepy guy who puts soap in your hands and dries them for you. Ewww... And the worst part is when the bathroom is really really tiny yet you still have to squeeze in there with a bathroom attendant who's basically just standing there watching you take a piss so he knows when to turn the water on for you. Is this really necessary? Everyone hates them. They cost the bar money. Nobody tips them. Why do they exist?

And finally...

- I HATE Nickelback.

Mo out.

THANK YOU Mahmoud Ahmedinejad for finally not being a crazy bastard, and a few words on our foreign policy

Let's all take a moment to celebrate. This is epic.

So Ahmedinejad wants to talk. What's so great about this round of talks? Well, for once he is not being a complete lunatic. We've all heard the stories of how Iran isn't going to stop its nuclear program, and how it's going to rain fire down on the Western world etc. It takes a pretty creative imagination to come up with these speeches, but an even more creative imagination to believe that Iran would actually follow through with plans to attack the United States. I've always thought Ahmedinejad, was crazy, but I never thought he was dumb. Attacking the US, especially with nuclear missiles, would be suicide for any country. Also, I highly doubt that under such intense international scrutiny, Iran would supply nuclear missiles to terrorists. After all, we invaded their next door neighbor just because we suspected they had some sort of big guns... and Iran knows that.

No, what makes me happy is that for once, the double standard held against "countries that we don't like" is being questioned. If Iran is not allowed to have nuclear weapons (OR even nuclear power plants, which is what they say they want), and must allow inspectors to come in and look through their facilities, and must sign agreements promising to do X, Y, and Z... then why is it that Israel can have nuclear warheads pointed at every single one of its neighbors. After all, when you think of the one country in the region that on a regular basis uses excessive force in dealing with conflicts, only one country comes to mind.

But let's not even question Israel's "right to nukes" because probably they need them more than anyone else in the region (this is what happens when you piss off all your neighbors). Can we instead focus on the fact that Israel has not signed the same nuclear nonproliferation agreements that we are trying to force on Iran? Can we focus on the fact that they have nukes and won't even acknowledge they do... Their public statements on the matter amount to "umm, well, we can't say we don't, but can't say we do either" which frankly, stopped being convincing a long time ago.

This flagrant double standard is completely unacceptable. In the arena of international politics, there are no bad guys and good guys. Sure, we the United States are friends with Israel and don't see them as a threat. But when dealing with other countries, that is not an assumption that we can make for them. Not every country is friends with Israel. Take Iran's point of view for just a second:

- Their next door neighbor was invaded and its leader executed on the basis of "we thought they might be bad" (granted we knew their leader was bad, but that still doesn't give us the right to invade a sovereign nation).

- Their arch nemesis (Israel) has the capability to, with the push of  a button, wipe them off the face of the planet (and they have no ability to retaliate at all).

Is it fair to assume now that Iran would want something to defend itself with? Do you think that Iran is reassured one bit when we tell them they have nothing to fear because we are the good guys? Even if they're not after nuclear missiles... isn't it wholly unfair that Israel can have hundreds (or possibly thousands) of nuclear missiles but that Iran can't even build a power plant? Do we really want a foreign policy classifies half the world as second class citizens?

Break ----------------------------

I think this is a good time to reflect on our foreign policy. It's easy to see how our attitude towards other countries (we are good, you are bad) can anger them. And while we have the safety of knowing we can get away with angering countries, because nobody in their right mind would go to war with us, it is a BAD strategy. You know why? Because:

- It makes us a world bully, the country who pins other countries against their lockers and takes their lunch money

- It promotes extremism in "bad" countries by constantly fueling the anti-American fire

And finally,

- While no country in their right mind would go to war with us, plenty of terrorists who are NOT in their right mind can attack us, knowing very well that we don't have the capability to retaliate against them. If Saudi terrorists bomb New York City, we can not retaliate by bombing Saudi Arabia.

I am by no means advocating that we end our alliances with Israel or any other countries and become friends with everyone. Instead, I am suggesting that US foreign policy needs to take an approach that respects other countries as sovereign nations with their own agendas. We cannot only address our security needs and ignore those of other countries. In order to have peace, everyone must feel secure. Part of that is to have international standards that ALL countries agree to... and when someone doesn't play by the rules (Israel, Iran) they face the SAME consequences.

Break ----------------------------

So back to Iran. I'm really curious to see how the international community responds to Ahmedinejad's statements. And as crazy as I think the man is, I think that by raising the issue of Israel's nuclear weapons, he is making significant progress in the resolution of this conflict - he is addressing his country's right to nuclear energy/national security while at the same time showing the world that he is ready to do so in a peaceful way.

We would so kick Iran's ass in a fight though... it's not even funny.

Mo out.

An update from your favorite blogger

If I am the blogger, does that make you guys the bloggees? I think that would mean that I am blogging about you, not to you. Anyhow...

Hi, and welcome to the latest edition of "an update from your favorite blogger." Every now and then, I decide that everyone who follows my blog would really enjoy it if I filled them in on a bunch of things that concern me (even though they'd probably just rather hear me rant about politics or the economy). The topics du jour are:

1) Avenged Sevenfold's new album really sucks. There are maybe 2-3 just okay songs on it. The whole album just lacks any sort of definition or groove... all the songs sound pretty much the same and don't stand out in any way. The weird thing is I don't understand why it's so bad. It's not like all of a sudden they "sold out." A7X has been pretty poppy since City of Evil came out, and even before that, some songs like Unholy Confessions and Second Heartbeat from Waking the Fallen had elements of pop-punk in them. Some might blame the album's quality (or lackthereof) on the death of their drummer, The Rev, but he actually wrote about 60% of the material for the album before his death, and his parts were recorded by the very competent Mike Portnoy.

Now that I think of it, I think Avenged Sevenfold are a victim of their own success in that they tried to much on this album to replicate the things that people liked about their old records. The guitarwork on this album is technically excellent, as always, but it's not good. The dueling lead guitars overshadow both the rythm guitar track and the bass guitar to the point where every song is like a pair of Yngwie Malmsteens stroking each other. There is hardly a memorable riff played above the 12th fret. The drumwork is mind blowingly complex, fast, and accurate, but it's not good either. One of the things I liked about The Rev (which I described in a previous post) is that he didn't just play fast and complicated stuff all the time but instead played beats that were perfectly appropriate. I'm not sure to what extent the drum parts were written before Mike Portnoy came in, so I certainly don't want to discredit The Rev, but a lot of the drumwork on this album focuses on the fast double bass beats and tom fills that are usually associated with cliché metal.

Let's hope they find their groove again for the next record and can put out something that stands up proudly next to their older stuff.

2) Speaking of music, I am back to work on my own. After a period of being very very very distracted by everything from video games, to girls, to work, to girls again, I've decided that I'm just going to put everything on hold (except work of course) and get this EP done. While I resolve my Pro Tools iLok situation (I am ordering a new one because I seem to have lost mine IN MY OWN APARTMENT) I've been seriously practicing the drums... not just dicking around but actually practicing songs with a metronome and shit. First on the list when my new iLok gets in is a new song I wrote in a rather interesting way...

I came up with the chorus while screwing around with my loop station. It's nothing special, just some backing chords with an octave bit played over it, similar to What It Is To Burn by Finch. It is pretty catchy though. The intro/verse/pre-chorus parts I actually came up with while playing the drums. So I came up with these cool beats that I like and then wrote guitar parts for them. The end result is a very heavy drum based song with a big open chorus. I like it, and I think you will too.

3) StarCraft II will be arriving at my door very very soon. This is epic. I'm not quite sure how the best way to explain this to people is. Think of like, the best thing that you've ever experienced in your entire life. Now imagine they announce a sequel. Every year, it keeps getting delayed and delayed until it seems like they're never going to make it. 11 years later, the sequel finally comes out, and it's even better than the original. The wait has been epic. The game is epic. The story is an epic of epic epicness...

...a won't be able to play it. Because if you read #2 you will know that I have committed to finishing this stupid record, even if it means not playing StarCraft II for the first month after its release. But I mean, what's a month when I've been waiting 11 years? I have all the way to 2021 until StarCraft III comes out...

4) Reading webcomics really makes me want to start my own webcomic. Although highly unlikely because of how busy I'm going to be playing StarCraft II instead of recording my music, if I did have a comic, I'm not sure what it would be about. I'm pretty sure it would be funny in one way or another though.

If you have any cool comic suggestions, feel free to send them in.

Mo out.

Came across this treasure in a Facebook related discussion thread

"Facebook is pretty much only useful as a place to spy on your ex or get random hookups from girls you knew 5 years ago.

I will bet you anything that the average occurrence of reconnecting with some hot chick you used to have a crush on in high school but didn't talk to much, and then meeting up at a bar and getting wasted together and you bang the bejeezus out of her, then not talking again for like a month and it never goes anywhere, has increased by like 15,000% since the launch of Facebook."

Give that man a cigar.

Mo out.

A Sandwich in a Can. Why? ...Because they Can!

First of all, I would like to apologize for the worst pun ever since Sex and the City (not that I watched or liked that show, it's just that like every other guy who's seen it, I was flipping through the channels and saw boobs and then stopped flipping only to later realize I was watching Sex and the City). It was a very terrible pun, I know, but somehow, it seemed very appropriate as the first line of a blog post about a sandwich that comes in a can. If you're not aware of what the cleverly named Candwich is, then check it out here.

You know it's going to be good when their tag line is "new & innovative sandwich product for grab-and-go convenience." Mmmmm.... I'm having sandwich product for lunch today. That sounds appetizing as hell doesn't it? I think it would go very well with some tasty juice product and a bag of potato chips product. I think it's time that companies stopped using that clever trick of adding the word "product" to the end of descriptions of fake versions of real foods; it just sounds so gross. They should take a hint from the beef jerkey people, who (in a move I endorse) refrained from naming their product "dried and artificially flavored beef meat product."

By the way, I am trying to delay addressing the elephant in the room for a good reason: if i immediately attacked the fact that it's a sandwich that comes in a can, this blog post would be over by now. The fact of the matter is that I am not here to give a professional review or recommendation of this canned sandwich product, nor are you here because you are curious about its culinary merits. This is supposed to be fun! Let's milk the ridiculousness of this product for all it's worth.

Alright. Let's talk about the flavor selection. Currently the Candwich is not available (because they haven't been released yet) in "PB&J Grape" "PB&J Strawberry", and "BBQ Chicken." Hold on just one minute... one of these things is not like the others. The two PB&J flavors seem sensible enough. If you're a first time buyer of a sandwich that comes in a can, they seem like the two flavors that are least likely to make you go "I would never eat X from a can... this is gross." That's BBQ Chicken's job. In fact, if I could think of the one thing that I would specifically NOT eat from a can (let alone a can that also has bread and a toffee in it), it would be some sort of grilled meat. Seems like someone got a little ambitious... it's like one of the... engineers (or whatever you call people who design fake food) over at Mark One Foods was madly scribbling formulas on a piece of paper while saying (with a mad scientist voice):

 "AHA! We will make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches... yes! And they will be strawberry and grape! And we'll also make barbecue chicken sandwiches! And then chicken parm heroes, and then once we've built our empire of fake canned sandwiches we can expand into canned breakfast and canned dinner! A Thanksgiving turkey dinner for four in a can! Filet mignon in a can! MUAHHAHAHA the world is MINE!!!!"

...while the rest of his coworkers grabbed both his legs and tried to pull him away from the drawing board yelling "that's crazy talk Jimmy! You're going to get yourself killed like this! We'll do BBQ Chicken but you have to promise to stop there!! It's for your own good!!"

And then they finally drew the line at BBQ chicken and called it a day.

Also, who was the brilliant artist who came up with the pictures on the cans? The PB&J sanwiches look decent enough (despite being in a hot dog bun), but the BBQ chicken sandwich looks like someone sliced a hot dog bun in half vertically then hollowed it out and filled it with sloppy joe meant for poor third world cats. If you're going to market a grilled chicken sandwich that comes served on a hot dog bun and is packaged in a can, at least try to make it look like it's not a grilled chicken sandwich that comes served on a hot dog bun and is packaged in a can.

Next, let's make fun of the target market. The website states that "Candwich is the perfect product for people on the go such as students, construction workers, soccer moms, and outdoor enthusiasts." We've already established that I'd rather eat a dead pelican found in the BP oil spill than the BBQ Chicken flavor sandwich, so I'm going to pretend it doesn't exist. Peanut butter and jelly seems like a sensible product to be marketed to students. Construction workers though? I like to imagine a bunch of construction workers from Brooklyn eating ridiculously large pastrami sandwiches while sitting in very dangerous locations. Now imagine Joe the construction worker opening his lunch box and taking out a pink or purple can (take your pick) and extracting from it a PB&J the size of a hot dog bun. Imagine him trying to act normal while all the other workers give him weird looks. "Whattttt....I was on-the-go guys... I needed something light..." I just laughed out loud a little bit (in my mind that construction worker also has a lisp). Also, I have to question their definition of "on-the-go" because when I think of construction workers and the things they build, they are usually not going anywhere. Unless they're Italian and they're performing renovations on the Leaning Tower of Pizza (yes that was intentional) in which case they might be on-the-go. I'm sorry if that joke was lame. My first pick was to say "unless they're from New Orleans, where everything is on the go" but then I realized that's a sore subject.

Oh come on!

Next, soccer moms. Calling someone a soccer mom is pretty much an insult nowadays. I have no idea how that slipped past their marketing department, but I imagine next they will sell brooms that are "perfect for housewives and Mexican cleaning ladies!" No soccer mom would buy this product simply out of their own fear of falling into the cliché of a mother who drives around in a minivan taking her kids to soccer practice so often that it becomes the only activity she does. And even if you were okay with that... it is an established fact that soccer moms' diets consist of chocolate chip cookies from Stop and Shop, Munchkins from Dunkin Donuts, and Gatorade.

Next, outdoor enthusiasts. Right. Because when I think of people who love the outdoors and nature I think "Gee, we can sell them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that come in a can! Yeah, they're the perfect market for this!"

I'm also going to make fun of that little line on the website that says "easy store display - does not require refrigeration" by pointing out that none of the ingredients of the sandwich product (bread product, peanut butter product, and jelly product) require refrigeration either.

Okay. Now I'm going to make fun of the fact that it comes in a can. Are you ready??????

LOL IT COMES IN A CAN!!!!!!!!!!!!

So it's a sandwich product... that comes in a can. I guess the whole point is that you're supposed to be able to quickly eat it anytime you want, right? Simply whip out your can of sandwich and eat! "Quick and tasty, ready to eat" the website says. But there is a catch...

IT IS NOT QUICK AND TASTY, AND IT IS NOT READY TO EAT!!!!

Because once you open the can, and magically extract the plastic wrapped hot dog bun from the can, you will find that there is in fact no peanut butter OR jelly in it. Instead you will find two small plastic packets: one that contains a tiny amount of peanut butter, and one that contains a tiny amount of jelly.

THIS IS NOT A SANDWICH. THIS IS GROCERIES.

So now that you've finally been convinced to buy this ridiculous product (a sandwich product that comes in a fucking can) and you've put aside the fact that it may be gross and full of preservatives, and that your coworkers may laugh at you, you still have to sit down and make it yourself. Not cool. That's like if you went to buy a bag of potato chips, and you opened it to find one potatoe, a knife and a small kettle. I have no idea and do not want to know what the assembly instructions are for the BBQ Chicken Candwich.

What are you thinking Candwich? You're like the young underprivilleged urban child who shows talent from a very early age, is tutored by a supportive teacher, wins a scolarship from a prestigious university and has the chance to turn his life around, and then says fuck it all then decides to deal drugs instead. You've just turned the whole world upside down, defeated the odds, and convinced an otherwise reasonably sane person to buy a fucking sandwich that comes out of a fucking can... at least package something that's readily edible.

Instead of creating a weird product that some passers by may just buy once if their kids whine about it enough (which I assume is the most that this company could be going for), Mark One Foods has produced Candwich... a sandwich product whose Achilles' Heel is also it's only gimmick.

I have run out of things to say. And ironically all this talk of Candwich has made me hungry.

Mo out.

The one about software piracy

I will give you a couple of examples of things that annoy me and then rant about what should be done differently in my view. Because that's what I always do, right? Also, I will start a sentence with because if I want to because as I've said before I make no apologies for poor grammar (as I was never actually taught grammar), only poor spelling.

1) Ubisoft's new copy protection system requires that you have an active connection to the internet at all times. This is because their games sync to their server while you are playing in order to make sure that you're playing a legal copy. While a clever copy protection technique, this creates some problems. Firstly, you must be connected to the internet at all times. What if the internet is down? What if you don't have internet. What if you're traveling and you want to play on your laptop on the road? Sorry guys, no game for your. What if you're connected to the internet and the internet disconnects for a second, as is typical of many broadband connections? The game shuts down automatically and you lose all unsaved progress up to that state. Really, this is a very crappy form of DRM. It is very inconvenient to a customer who has already PAID to buy the product.

2) Digidesign, makers of Pro Tools 8, have a system where you need a special USB key inserted in the computer the whole time that you want to run your software. It's called an iLok, and it stores all your "licenses" to the software that you've bought. This is extremely inconvenient! If you lose the USB key, you can't run the software at all (which is why sadly, there will be no EP in July as promised - August will be the release month). Also, it takes up a USB slot the whole time it's plugged in, which means that after my iLok and my M-Audio USB recording interface, I'm left with only one USB port on my laptop. I can either choose to plug in a mouse or my MIDI controller... lame.

Key takeaway from these examples?

This copy protection is making me feel like I should have pirated the software:

1) Pirated Ubisoft games are free, and you can play them whenever you want. In that sense, the pirated game is a better product than the actual game. Why would anyone even buy it then? Because of Ubisoft's new system, I have yet to purchase Assassin's Creed 2 (or as Yahtzee calls it, Ass Creed) or the new Prince of Persia title. These are two games that are part of my two favorite game franchises, yet I will not be buying them, Ubisoft. That's what I have to say about your system. (For the record, I will also not be pirating the games. Instead, I will simply not play them as a way to boycott Ubisoft. I know that's dumb and idealistic, but if everyone did it, it would work.)

2) Pirated Pro Tools 8 M-Audio would have saved me $235 AND I would have finished my EP on time. Because I lost my iLock, not only can I not use the software that I paid for, but I am also way behind on my recording. Also, if I had pirated the software, I would have been able to use a mouse to do my editing, instead of a touchpad, because of the free USB slot. In this case, the pirated product is also more convenient to use than the paid product, and is MUCH cheaper ($235 cheaper).

The point is that software makers need to focus on providing their paying customers a better experience than people pirating it. No amount of copy protection will stop piracy - any code that can be written will eventually be broken. These types of anti-piracy measures are often leaked within days of release, and sometimes even before the product is launched (Ubi's system was cracked in under 24 hours).

I'm goign to say it nice and clearly now in case someone doesn't get the hint:

DRM SOFTWARE DOESNT WORK! Why? Because only the version that you buy in stores has the DRM on it. This is both redundant and RETARDED because those people have already paid for the software! The versions that you download online (pirated versions) have been cracked by professionals, who are increasingly better and faster at cracking software.

This is kind of like Costco, where if you hide something under your shirt and walk out you're fine, but if you've paid and have a receipt, someone stops you at the door and checks every item in your cart to make sure you haven't stolen anything. It's fucking dumb!

Ultimately the best piracy protection is to increase the quality of the product you are providing. Rather than adding tons of obtrusive DRM, make the game/software convenient to use and easy to access. Offer free bonus downloads for people who bought the title. Offer some fucking customer support that doesn't expire within 15 days of purchase!

There will always be pirates. Somalia is proof. These people don't have morals and are okay with stealing. Some people though, choose to buy products. These people deserve to be treated as paying customers, not as pirates. Ubisoft, Digidesign... you better get your act together before Mo (a loyal, paying customer) reaches for his eye patch.

I'm getting very close.

Mo out.

Why are we paying for this?

Read this article.

Israel is planning to build an anti-missile system to help protect its citizens (key word being its) from missiles launched by terrorists. That's wonderful news. I'm not being sarcastic at all... I really think this is a great alternative to carpet bombing 5 square miles of anywhere a rocket may have been launched from (although something tells me they won't stop doing that...). I think it gives the citizens of Israel added security and protects them from the evil of terrorists who are cowardly enough to launch their attacks on innocent civilians rather than the soldiers who "oppress" them (and there was no sarcasm in that sentence either).

But my question is... why are we paying for it (key word being we). We as in the United States of America. How does this benefit us in any way? We are already in huge amounts of debt. Just today, the Senate struggled to pass a bill to increase unemployment insurance to unemployed AMERICANS who have been out of a job for six months or longer; people who opposed the bill cited a spiraling national deficit as their concern, not the idea of helping the unemployed itself.

Yet here we are, sending $205 million to Israel in order for them to build their missile defense system. Mind you, this is in addition to the $3 billion that we send them annually. So why are we doing this? Why is it that Americans need to get into more debt so that Israel can protect itself? Why can't Israel pay for it?

The argument that is often made is that Israel is our ally (a key ally in the region), and that we must help it.

I have a few counter arguments, which I'm going to list:

1) Turkey is a great ally in the region. They are much bigger than Israel and are majority Muslim country with a  democratic government. They are a role model to other Middle-Eastern countries. We should be more friends with them, yet we are not. The extent of our friendship with the Turks has been to conveniently use their country as a base of operations to bomb the shit out of neighboring Iraq (which they've been getting pissed about). How much money do we give them?

2) Most of the trouble we are in comes because terrorists are mad that we support Israel. Before you call me anti-Semitic (because that is completely unfounded and I have not said a single word about religion, only politics), go and listen to the tapes made by terrorists and what they say in them. They acknowledge that because we support Israel, they hate us. This is fact. So really we are helping them because they are key in helping us with the problems that we have because we help them. Okay, let's move on.

3) When we went to war in Afghanistan, and Iraq, how many troops did our loyal ally Israel send to help us? We are over there cleaning up their mess. The least they could do is lend a hand.

4) How much money does Israel give us to protect our troops? Our soldiers are dying at the other end of the world... they've told us that more military funding would help, yet we are too broke to give them more money. Why doesn't Israel pitch in and help pay the tab for more Kevlar, rockets, drones... whatever it is the need to do their job?

5) WE ARE FUCKING BROKE! When you see homeless people on the street, do they ask for money to eat, or for money to come to my house and buy me a fucking Nintendo Wii??? We have priorities, and they are to us. Our country is FUCKED at the moment and we need to invest every dime we have into fixing it. If Israel needs a missile defense system so urgently, why don't they do what we do, and borrow from the Chinese?

There are really good reasons for all of these things. For example, the US Israel lobby is (read) the largest lobby in Washington. The lobby for a FOREIGN FUCKING COUNTRY is the biggest lobby in our government. I'm not even going to get into this though, because this is going to open up a whole new can of worms (and I don't like worms). Also, it's proven that any criticism of Israel or its policies will result in being called an anti-Semite, a label which is impossible to argue or defend yourself against for some odd reason (regardless of how logical and fact-based your arguments are).

Read my entire post. I have not said anything that is targeted at members of any religious groups. My argument is only political. As an American.... as an American TAXpayer... why should we be paying for Israel's defense when we can hardly pay for our own?

Sleep on it.

Mo out.