- What in the world is going on?
As if our political world isn't enough to drive us crazy, we seem to be bombarded by a constant barrage of bizarre events we simply do not comprehend. Nonetheless, the press insists on producing stories testing our common sense. They would be funny if we knew they were false, but they are not, thereby causing us to shake our heads in bewilderment. I've noticed such shaking has become commonplace among people reading newspapers, be it in a cafe or library, or watching the news on television.
To illustrate, I picked a few news stories produced between October 23rd and 29th. There was nothing special about these dates other than to demonstrate the frequency of some of the bonehead shenanigans going on in our country. Keep in mind, this was a busy week politically where we saw Hillary Clinton testify before the Benghazi Committee, the third GOP debate in Colorado, and Paul Ryan elected Speaker of the House. Despite these major news events, we were treated to the following oddball events:
First, there was the announcement by the World Health Organization (WHO) (Oct 26th) condemning the consumption of processed meats as they may cause cancer (which inspired me to write my "Who's On Beef?" article earlier). Basically, the announcement was designed to cause us to think of meat as another form of tobacco and encourage us to convert to vegans. From my perspective, this appeared to be another "Climate Change" type of announcement to make us feel guilty for eating meat. Sorry, my conscious is clear, so leave me alone. Incidentally, another story appeared later in the week claiming the oldest living person in the United States, a 116 year-old Brooklyn woman, Mushatt Jones, claimed to enjoy life by eating four rashers of bacon every day. Take that, World Health Organization.
When I first read about the "EEOC Wins Discrimination Case For Muslim Truck Drivers Fired For Not Delivering Beer" (Oct 25th), I thought it was a joke. Sadly, it wasn't. Two Muslim truck drivers were hired specifically to deliver beer for a Midwest distributor. When they complained the job violated their religious beliefs, they were fired. They sued through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) who awarded them $240,000. Yes, there is the obvious question of why would you apply for a job you know you cannot fulfill, but I guess the EEOC knows better. Somehow this reminds me of the frivolous lawsuit brought on by a woman years ago who spilled hot coffee she was holding between her legs in an automobile. I believe the two Muslim drivers were last seen applying for work at Smithfield Foods. Yea, right.
A host on MSNBC, Melissa Harris-Perry (Oct 27th), tried to update the political correctness vernacular by insisting the expression "hard work" should not be used. She claimed a picture in her office, showing slaves from the 1800's picking cotton, is the only true depiction of "hard work." I guess she wants us to believe only African Americans understand the meaning of "hard work." I would then assume our founding fathers, such as those at Plymouth Rock or Williamsburg, had no concept of "hard work," nor the Jews and slaves imprisoned in European concentration camps during World War II, or the millions who survived the "Great Depression." She wants us to believe she alone holds a monopoly over "hard work." Yea, right.
The Department of Justice dropped a bomb when they announced they were closing their two-year investigation of the IRS Targeting Scandal (Oct 23rd), claiming they could find no signs of corruption, thereby letting people like Lois Lerner off the hook completely. This startled a lot of people, particularly those in Congress, who claimed the IRS destroyed evidence and blocked investigations. Not surprising, Congress shortly thereafter introduced legislation to impeach IRS Chief John Koskinen.
A seventh grader in Katy, Texas (Oct 27th) came forward with a bizarre story of her reading teacher instructing her class that God was not real. Further, any of the students responding to the contrary on their tests would warrant their grades being docked. Actually, such stories are more common than you may think, not only to frame religious theory, but to make political statements as well.
And finally, my favorite, the Missouri City Council is being sued over their Indecent Exposure Law (Oct 27th), by the American Civil Liberty Union (ACLU) and the "Free The Nipple" movement (sorry, I'm not making this up). Evidently, they look upon this as a first amendment "free speech" matter allowing women to walk around topless if they are so inclined. Such lawsuits are certainly not new and have been tested many times in the past. My question though is, why stop there? Why not allow the exposure of genitalia for both sexes? Frankly, I think we would see a substantial increase in traffic accidents if this were to occur.
I guess what bothers me about these stories is that they are becoming more frequent, not less. Are these stories fictitious, or have we really lost all common sense? Maybe there really is something in the water.
Keep the Faith!
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Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com
For Tim's columns, see: timbryce.com
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Copyright © 2015 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.
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