Dictating Morality...

The media is making a big stink over the fact that Gen. Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that it was his personal opinion that homosexuality is immoral and that the U.S. military should not allow gays to openly serve in the military because it would be like condoning immorality. He likened this position to the military's policy of not allowing soldiers to sleep with other soldier's wives a.k.a. adultery.

Now, Pace is a U.S. citizen just like you and me, and he's entitled under the Constitution of the United States to express his views...as long as he is doing so under the pretext of "this is my personal opinion" and not under the heading, "The U.S. military stance toward homosexuality is that it is immoral". He has the right to say that, folks. Just like I have a right to say that he is wrong.

Where he may have stepped over the line is when he declared that he doesn't think the U.S. military should allow openly gay men and women to serve because it would equate to them condoning immorality. That's where he crossed into the red zone.

It's not the place of the U.S. military or any public institution, be it Congress, the President, or any government official to say what is moral and what is not. Maybe it's just the Libertarian in me, but we are a very diverse country, and just because the General's up-bringing has led him to the conclusion that homosexuality is wrong and somehow less moral than heterosexuality, doesn't mean we all feel that way or that the government has a place in telling anyone what is right or what is wrong.

Let me be clear....I'm as straight as straight can be. But, I have many gay friends, several of whom are some of the most moral people I know. I can't speak to the pro's and con's of a soldier "outing" himself or herself as gay to their fellow soldiers, as I have no experience serving in the military. Personally, I would think that it should be a matter of personal choice based upon how comfortable that soldier is with the others in his unit or platoon, and I would defer to those with actual experience to decide whether "Don't ask, Don't tell" is working. (Logic hints that it is, because this is the first I've heard on the subject of gays and the military in years), but again, I just don't have the background to really comment.




What I can say is that if a young man or woman has the courage to voluntarily serve in our military, regardless of sexual orientation, race, creed, religion or any other factor, we should encourage and support them. They are certainly more "man" than I am.

Cheers!

Dropping Passes

It seems like a true hallmark of the Richt era has been a case of the dropsies among GA's wide receiving corps. It's like, no matter how much we hear about a prospect having "great hands", as soon as he is introduced to our system, he forgets how to catch the football. Case in point, Mohammed Massoquoi. This guy was phenomenal as a Frosh, hauling in just about every pass that was thrown his way. He caught some wicked passes two years ago...I mean, the kid was like an absolute vacuum cleaner, sucking the ball right out of the sky. But, last season, after two years in our system, it was like he forgot how to catch. What is it with our program and wide receivers not catching the ball? Do you think it's just a lack of fundamentals coaching? Do you think too much emphasis is placed on getting yardage after the catch, so that the actual basic function of catching the damn football is overlooked?


Shockley steps back...throws a rope to Bailey, and....he drops it.

Sean Bailey is back, and that's a much-needed boost. But, even he has been inconsistent catching the ball in the past. He's shown flashes of greatness, followed by bone-headed drops. I'm anxious to see what Tony Wilson, Kris Durham, and some of the other younger guys can do. I've heard through some of the underground practice reports coming out on UGASports.com and other sites, that receivers are still dropping passes. Are we ever gonna move past this?

Personally, I don't think this GA offense will ever been "great" until our WR's catch the ball with consistency. And, I think a coaching change is in order at the WR position. John Eason may be a veteran, but likely a veteran that is past his prime.

I hope I'm wrong, Dawg fans. I hope this season is Mark Richt's best yet. Lord knows, Stafford has the natural ability, the X factor, to make something special happen. But, even John Elway needs great receivers to throw the ball to.

Going Veg

I'm going Veg!!!! Holy crap, that's something I never thought I'd say. I am a freakin' vegetarian. This is coming from possibly the biggest meat-eater on the planet. I love meat. Steak, juicy red bloody steak! It's great!!!!!!!!!!!!! Meat...it does a body good!



Yummy, Yummy in my Tummy!!!


But seriously, I started looking around on the internet at some PETA videos. I'm not really sure how I came across them, but the first one I watched was on animal testing. That is, it was showing you what happens when companies such as Proctor & Gamble, Unilever and others test their products on animals to determine if they're safe for humans. I was appalled!! Do you know that they actually squirt shampoo and toothpaste into rabbits' eyes until it burns them out and the rabbits go blind??? I had no clue. I mean, you read on the back of lotion bottles "This product not tested on animals", and you think...oh, that's good. But, that implies that some products are/were tested on animals, and I guess my brain never really went that far. Now, I'm not saying that ALL animal testing is bad. Let's face it, most of the advances of modern medicine that save human lives on a daily basis have come about because of animal testing. But, the idea that an animal has to suffer so that I can wash my hair or brush my teeth or not have armpits that smell like raccoon ass...well, that's just unacceptable. There are plenty of alternative products that are cruelty-free. You just have to know where to look.


Sorry, Mr. Bunny Rabbit. We suck!!

You can click here to watch the PETA video on animal testing. You can also visit caringconsumer.org to learn more about buying products for your home that are not tested on animals a.k.a. cruelty-free products. You'd be surprised at some of the stuff you buy every day that is tested on little rabbits and dogs and monkeys. If that shit doesn't get you to thinking, then you're just heartless.

But, I digress. That's not the reason I'm going Veg. THIS IS THE REASON I've decided to become a vegetarian. Just watch that sucker. It's a video on the meat industry narrated by the #1 PimpDaddy, himself, Alec Baldwin. Again...had no idea this kind of shit was happening. And, the thing is, I love meat. I've been off meat now for about 3 weeks, and every time I find myself craving a Whopper (with cheese, mayo and ketchup only...thanks!), I just watch that video, and the craving just magically melts away. It's actually been really, really easy to give up meat. There are tons of veggie-based meat substitutes. Let's see...there's veggie hot dogs, veggie corndogs (these rock the hizouse!), veggie chicken nuggets (hold the chicken). And, if I gave you any one of these faux meat treats and didn't tell you they were veggie, you'd never know the difference. Again, this comes from a man with a highly evolved and very discriminating meat palette. So, take my word for it...the shit is good.

Now, I'm not gonna get all righteous and go around demanding that others immediately and unequivocally denounce their acceptance of animal flesh as a delicacy...hell, I cringe at the thought of being labelled a "PETA person". But, the fact remains that animal cruelty is just not right, and I'm just trying to do what I can. I read somewhere that for each person that stops eating meat, 100 animals are saved yearly. That's a hell of a lot of suffering that can be spared, and damnit I'm gonna do my part!


I'll spare you the fur video today...that's the worst one of all. But, in case you're curious, go to YouTube and do a search for J. Lo and Fur Ho and see what comes up!

Peace out, bitches!
Jeff

Losing Faith

I've lost all faith in the Grammys. I'm just gonna lay it out there...the Dixie Chicks won...not because of their music, but because of a political stance. Let me preface this by saying that I'm not pro-war, I'm not really a Bush supporter, and I don't really care what Natalie Maines or any other performer thinks about politics. Last night should have been about music. It wasn't, and that's a damned shame. When you consider the fact that this newest album by the Dixie Chicks was considered, by most accounts, a dismal failure in the sales category, you wonder how artists like Justin Timberlake (by the way, I'm not really a J.T. fan, either), Gnarls Barkley (okay you got me...I'm a fan), the Red Hot Chili Peppers and John Mayer were all surpassed for Album of the Year by a group that made mediocre music in a genre and for a demographic that hates them and everything they stand for.

For the love of God...somebody....anybody....PLEASE...put a muzzle on this bitch!!

I'm just very disappointed that the Holy Grail of the music industry has become nothing more than a sounding board for the far left in this country. Hell, I don't want it to be a sounding board for the far right, the middle, or any other group. Is nothing pure any more?

We should be used to this sort of thing. I've witnessed countless actors tout their liberal viewpoints from the podium at the Oscars, and I even cringed two years ago when arguably the best band on the planet today, Coldplay, dedicated their award to John Kerry and proclaimed their hopes that he would be the next U.S. president.

But, I had hoped the judging/voting would always maintain it's integrity and not cave in and show it's political colors. If the Dixie Chicks had had massive sales numbers and had risen again to national prominence with the release of this latest album, "Taking the Long Way", then you and I wouldn't be having this conversation. But, the fact is that the album was not their best, and I think anyone who was being objective about it would agree with that.

I'm jaded now. It's over for me. It's a shame that I can't watch the Grammys any more, because I have, until now, really enjoyed them. But now, they're a complete fraud.

Peace out...