Skip to main content

Sourpatch Slurpee Day

30 times the wait for half the value
It's 7/11Day and that means lines through the door of the soulless convenience store at the local strip mall of Americans looking for a hand-out.  You never really know how much Americans love the iced sugar water of a Slurpee until you hand them out for free and then the humans come out of their hobbit holes by the mini-van load to fill their cup. You probably will think I'm making this up but I'm not - it takes about 25 minutes of waiting in line just to get in front of the Slurpee machine but people will do it for a free drink and do it gladly, happily. And they're not even getting a full sized Slurpee but some special edition super small cup which is more like a half Slurpee. So people are waiting inside a 7-Eleven (one of the most inhospitable environments ever devised by man) for a half hour (or 30 times the average wait time) for a product that's half its normal value and that product only costs about $1.00. No wonder politicians are always promising free stuff to the voters - people just don't do a CBA if it's free.

And that's a big problem because freedom isn't free. I've been amazed at the gentle treatment our president has enjoyed ever since he started sending US troops back to Iraq in June 2014. He was sneaky in sending a relatively small (300) group in first, but now it's grown to almost 5,000 and God only knows how many contractors who operate off the books.
The new troop deployment comes two years after Mr. Obama said that while the United States would help the Iraqi military reclaim territory from the Islamic State, those efforts would “not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil.” Since then, he has steadily increased the number of troops in Iraq and given them more authority. Three service members have been killed.
In other words (words the NYTimes can't bring themselves to print) we're back in Iraq America. We're not balls-deep yet, but Barack is a skillful seducer who takes his time - like a free Slurpee you don't even realize you're getting screwed while it's happening - worse, you're stupid enough to think you're getting a good deal. Slurp up the sweet cold ice but not too fast lest you get brain-freeze.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson

She was "sexy", but "too much hard work." I'm a regular Fox & Friends viewer (mostly in protest of the other insipid morning programs like Today and Good Morning America) so over the years I've gotten to know Gretchen Carlson pretty well. Stuck between Steve and Brian she always seemed a prudish scold with an irritating, self-righteous demeanor that I simply put up with because I figured some people in the Fox audience actually liked her persona. It was obvious that Steve and Brian did not, but they were stuck with her like so many talking heads and had to make the best of it - which they did. Besides, she was no worse than any of the other women on morning show TV - I mean, you're only going to find a certain kind of person to do this kind of work and that kind of person is the Gretchen Carlson kind. Then, one day, she was gone and replaced by Elisabeth Hasselbeck and the F&F ratings began to climb, and climb and climb - in two months view

The 4th Estate "does not know"

Last night Jim Acosta sat down for an interview with Larry Sabato at a national symposium series presented by the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics titled “Democracy in Perilous Times.” The evening’s topic was “ The Fourth Estate: Enemy of the People? ” and the crowd was warmly receptive of Acosta’s message which, boiled down to its essence, is that Donald Trump is a liar and he’s making life dangerous for reporters. Sabato introduced Acosta to the audience as Enemy #1 which drew mirthful laughter from the auditorium and then presented a short video montage of President Trump and his deplorable rubes insulting the reporter on many occasions over the past two years. This was all a set up for his first question which was, “how do you do your Job?” Acosta said the he accomplishes his duties by maintaining focus, reporting the story and telling the truth but acknowledged that it is difficult when the White House erodes the peoples faith in the press by bullying reporters. Whe

A Apolitical Blues

Well my telephone was ringing, and they told me it was chairman Mao. You got to tell him anything 'cause I just don't want to talk to him now. According to the brilliant troubadour Lowell George the Apolitical Blues are " the meanest blues of all" and who am I to disagree with this soul man now after all these years of living by his maxim.  I first heard the song bursting from the 1972 vinyl of Little Feat's Alt-Rock-Country masterpiece "Sailin' Shoes" in the second story bedroom of my friend John's older brother Edie who, being about 3 years our senior, was instructing us on the importance of good music. This was circa 1975 and a formative time for my musical taste and overall aesthetic which, for better or worse, infuses every aspect of my existence including the KOTCB blog so a debt is owed this unforgettable "older brother" now that  he has shuffled off this mortal coil  and left us with smoky memories. A born rebel with the heart o