Somewhere, the Spanish Flu Laughs at Us

Each year there are 36,000 flu-related deaths in the United States according to the CDC. That means, on average, 692 people died in the US last week from the normal flu! So, how many have succumbed to the swine flu? Surely, with all the attention, the numbers must be in the thousands. *sigh* So far 150 people have died of the 1,600 total cases in Mexico and ZERO deaths of the 40 cases in the United States.

It appears that, in another case of "inventing the news", the media has hyped this thing for the sole purpose of increasing ratings and readership. Quite frankly, they were probably getting bored with the whole "Economic Armageddon" as a lead. They needed something fresh. Please, save the sensationalism for when this strand is actually more dangerous than, oh I don't know, the flu?!

What's the harm in making people aware of the potential for pandemic (by the way, let's call it a "pandemic" when it's still barely an epidemic), you may ask? Why not ask that question of the airline industry, the meat export industry, the tourism industry. Thankfully, we have an economy that can absorb the potential job losses in these sectors.

The whole thing makes me sick...

..uh oh.


Update: yesterday in the United States one person died from H1N1. Meanwhile, 100 people died from normal flu.

Update 2: watched Sportcenter on ESPN this morning and they dropped "pandemic" 3 times in one report about the Mexican soccer team playing in Chicago. In the same report they said that stadium officials have made available hand sanitizer throughout the stadium. No joke, I'm not being sarcastic. It appears those officials believe that just because you're from Mexico, you are a carrier of a dreaded disease that may (or may not) give you a fever.

Wahh! They Started It!

Soft heads blaming this war on the "West's oppression of Muslims going back to the First Crusade." A tragic lie blindly repeated as fact and never challenged.

The truth of the matter is this war did not start with the First Crusade (1100 AD). It started when the Muslim Moors invaded Europe through Spain in the 700s. They were well on their way to conquering all of Europe when, in one of the most pivotal moments in history (think Thermopylae pivotal), the Moors were met and stopped by Charles "The Hammer" Martel at the Battle of Tours in central France. They retreated and eventually settled on controlling Spain. Eventually, they abandoned the continent entirely. It wasn't until 350 years after the invasion, a newly confident Europe began the first of its own crusades.

Charles the Hammer at the Battle of Tours

What caused the aggressive expansion of Islam? No, it was not a reaction to imperialistic Christianity. Nobody from Europe committed any sort of atrocity on an Islamic people or city. Nobody was conquered, no nation subjugated. Instead, an empire simply died. Nature abhors a vacuum. And the power vacuum left in Northern Africa by Rome was soon filled by the emerging Muslim religion. Unlike Christianity, which is a spiritual movement, early Islam was the perfect marriage of wealth, politics, and war all committed to the glory of Allah. And his glory set the world on fire.

Islamic "Empire" after the Battle of Tours

Don't get me wrong, history has shown it was the Caliphates and the Moors that kept the flame of civilization lit during the dark centuries following the Roman Empire. While Europe toiled, medicine, astronomy, science, math, philosophy, exploration all flourished in the Muslim world. I find it ironic how the roles are now reversed.

There. That feels better.

60 Miles Ain't Scary Until You're Staring it in the Face

Maps are cool.

Our “Dear Leader” finds himself wrastlin’ (I always loved that word, “wrastlin’”) with a Pakistani government abdicating control of significant areas of its country to within 60 miles of the nation’s capital. Thankfully, I’m hearing from my fellow “extremists” and newly minted “enemies of the state” a growing sense of alarm that we are just a 45 minute Talibani comute from witnessing a limited or full scale nuclear exchange in southern Asia (don’t think for a minute that India is going to allow Taliban control of Pakistani nukes). But from most I talk with (often at Hot Topic and Wet Seal) those precious few 60 miles might as well be 60,000 miles.

Often we fail to truly grasp the significance of a situation until it is staring at us square in the face. Events , like time and space, must be brought into the context of our lives for us to appreciate the moment we live in (appreciation is not always a good thing). They must be personalized. For instance, there was a time, when I could give a rat’s ass about the Soviet Union and its quest for a world-wide revolution. Russia was on the other side of the world for crying out loud. Then I saw Red Dawn. Holy shit! The Ruskies can invade Colorado? [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2LG-ASco6o]that's awesome

OK, what was I talking about? Oh yeah, when I was looking at that map above I found myself asking, "But what does that really look like?" In order for me to truly appreciate the magnitude of the problem, I needed to visualize the problem in my own backyard. In other words, I needed to put that map into some "Red Dawn" context, to bring it down to my scale. The question is, what does it look like in your backyard? A picture is worth a thousand words. I friggin' make maps on my one day off? Jesus, what's become of me?OK, what was I talking about? Oh yeah, when I was looking at that map above I found myself asking, "But what does that really look like?" In order for me to truly appreciate the magnitude of the problem, I needed to visualize the problem in my own backyard. In other words, I needed to put that map into some "Red Dawn" context, to bring it down to my scale. The question is, what does it look like in your backyard? A picture is worth a thousand words. I friggin' make maps on my one day off? Jesus, what's become of me?

New York - You tawkin' to me? Infidel!

Atlanta - Anyone want to see Paula Dean in a burka? Infidel!

Sacramento - San Francisco in Taliban country? What a surprise. Infidel!

Seattle - Would you like some jihad with your latte? Infidel!

Chicago - Heard any Obama/Muslim jokes lately? Infidel!

Austin - Everything's bigger in Texas...including the jihad. Infidel