Justin Bieber fever is making me puke (by anon)

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I don’t get it.  I’ve tried to get it, but it’s not happening.  This whole Justin Bieber craze is disgusting.  If he wasn’t so popular, there would be no problem, but that is SO not the case because, evidently, he is one of the most popular music artists right now and there is no end in sight.  I could understand flash-in-the-pants fame, but not this longstanding popularity.  For god’s sake, he just one the Grammy’s most prestigious award: best artist of the year!  Here are my problems with this phenomenon I’m going to call, “BIEBERSHIT.”

His voice is absolutely generic.  There is nothing distinctive about his voice except that it is absolutely generic.  That could be any generic voice singing what he sings to the precise level of ability as Bieber sings.  In fact, it could be a male or female singing these Bieber-songs for who could tell what sex Bieber is from just listening to his songs.  If he wrote his own songs, that would be a different story, but alas, as with most major pop stars, he is only the mouthpiece of the real music artists.  If he had some edge, something sultry, some extraordinary voice talent, or anything other than his generic voice quality, that would be something.  But his voice is absolutely replaceable.

His look is truly something to marvel at.  No.  I take that back.  What is to marvel is how other people take his look seriously.  Take this image from the recent Grammy’s where he took the show:

This image strikes me as suburban white boy trying to be all gangsta hip.  I mean, come on!  Do I really need to say any more?  There will always be people dressing in all kinds of ways, and that is a good thing.  Don’t get me wrong.  But there is something wrong when a baby-faced white boy is trying to look all bad boy when it looks just gimmicky.

You can all shit on me because I’m not feeling your Bieber fever.  But this is all Biebershit to me.

Towed away (by anon)

Here's a story for you: I was at my friends apartment the other night and figured I could drive and park there since I had before and there were no signs posted that the spaces were only for people with permits. WELL, being there not merely an hour, my friend stepped outside for a moment only to find my car on top of a tow truck! luckily he claimed the car and the driver was nice enough to take it off so I did not have to pay the fine.

Here's the kicker: In order to have your car towed, you have to get a 'warning' or a parking ticket first in order for them to do so, at least at this lot. I had gotten the ticket a half hour before the tow truck came, so I was thanking my lucky stars that he let me off the hook.

The problem: I think that Whitewater should give a ticket the first time, then the second time they catch you there they should have rights to tow. Also, there should be signs stating the regulations clearly. To this day there is still no sign or anything posted about the rules of parking. The tow truck frequently makes its rounds through the lot, capturing unknowing poor little cars and trucks and taking them to their doom (an expensive doom at that). Easy money for the city, but hard on the pocket book of a broke college student.

Hey, Ho, the police chief should not go! (by anon)

There are petitions being filed against Milwaukee’s Police Chief Ed Flynn to be fired. Four police officers from Milwaukee’s 5th district police station are facing charges for administering illegal strip searches. Two of those officers were also on the scene of the in-custody death of Derek Williams, which originally was said to have been related to Mr. Williams having sickle cell. The cause of death was later changed to a homicide. I don’t think that Police Chief Ed Flynn is responsible for the misconduct of a few officers. These officers were sworn in to protect and serve and because they did not live up to the oath that they swore to does not make it Chief Ed Flynn’s fault. It’s like when you raise your children. You can give them everything they need to make it in life, but once they become adults it is their decision on how they want their lives to be, even though you pointed them on the right path. If they choose the life of a criminal, do you lock the parents up with their child for the choices the child made as an adult? No, we do not, so why should we be forcing a resignation from the chief of Milwaukee? These are grown men that he has trained. He made well of the policies, procedures, rules and regulations for being productive officers of the law. What they chose to do with their training is solely on them and they should be held accountable for their actions not Chief Ed Flynn.

I HAVE CAPSLOCK ON BECAUSE I'M MAD (by anon)

I HAVE CAP LOCKS ON BECAUSE I JUST FEEL LIKE IT BY HOW MUCH I FEEL ABOUT OUR COUNTRY’S SCHOOL SYSTEM, AND HOW IT IS A FIRKIN JOKE!  THE GRADE SYSTEM IS PATHETIC AND OUT-DATED FOR THE NEW GENERATION, BECAUSE TECHNOLOGY AND GRADES ARE TAKING A HUGE PART IN OUR SCHOOL, AND YET THEY CONTRIBUTE TO A DECLINE IN HUMAN CONNECTIONS. THE TWO COMBINATIONS DO NOTHING BUT DECLINE THE NEEDED CONNECTION BETWEEN A STUDENT AND A TEACHER. ALBERT EINSTIEN ONCE SAID, "THE DAY TECHNOLOGY BECOMES A ISSUE IS IF IT DECLINES HUMAN INVOLVEMENT BUT IS ABLE TO PROVOKE IDIOTS".  FOR GRADES ONLY PROVE A PERSON’S NATURAL INTELLIGENCE AND THEIR TEST TAKING SKILLS BUT NOT MUCH ABOUT THEIR CHARACTER, THEIR MOTIVATION OF BEING A HARD WORKER, OR THEIR CREATIVITY. FOR EXAMPLE I KNOW PEOPLE WHO ARE HARD WORKERS AND THEY GET FRIKIN C's FOR GRADES. WHILE THERE ARE UNMOTIVATED PEOPLE WHO DO NOT STUDY AS MUCH BUT CAN PULL OFF GETTING A's OR B’s OR HIGHER. ANOTHER THING, SCHOOL IS SUPPOSED TO HELP US TAKE ON THE REAL WORLD, BUT I DON’T FIND THE REAL WORLD CAN BE DEFINE BY THE PAGES FOUND IN A STUPID TEXTBOOK.  WHAT DOES HELP STUDENTS TAKE ON THE REAL WORLD ARE EXPERIENCES, OR HANDS ON APPROACHES TO CERTAIN PROBLEMS. WE NEED TO CHANGE THE WAY SCHOOL IS RUN BECAUSE I DON’T FIND IT IS WORKING EFFECTIVELY. IT MAY WORK EFFICIENTLY, BUT NOT EFFECTIVELY TO HELP IMPROVE STUDENTS IN A WORLD THAT IS CHANGING.

Determinism sucks (by anon)

Determinism is that every belief and action you have or do is caused to happen by the physical universe, and I find this thought infuriating to put it lightly.  Thinking that everything we will do is already determined, which completely kills the notion of Free Will and making our own choices, is absurd.   I have some belief in fate, but never to the extreme that determinism takes it.  Determinism, if true, takes away everything from humans, all power, all responsibility, and basically makes us puppets in some play.

With determinism, never will somebody be blamed for their actions, for they were "determined" to do what they did, and "had no choice."  On the flip side, somebody's successes can never be attributed to their work either, for they were "determined" to achieve whatever they achieved.  Just think if somebody took everything you accomplished, which you take pride in, and basically said you had nothing to do with any of them, that they basically were just handed to you, wouldn't that piss you off?  Determinism is just a huge excuse to take all blame off of humankind, which to me is bullshit.

Determinism also interferes with religious beliefs.  Some of the common beliefs of God are that of an All-Loving God, and possibly some notion of Heaven and Hell to name a couple.  Now if your religious beliefs fall into these categories, determinism, in my opinion tears these down.  If there is a Heaven and Hell, and determinism is true, wouldn't that mean that God determined us to go to either one of the other once we die?  This defeats the belief of an All-Loving God, because an All-Loving God would not condemn us to Hell since before we were born.  So if God is All-Loving and determinism exists, that would mean everybody goes to Heaven (which goes against many beliefs,) there is no Heaven or Hell (which makes everybody's "afterlife" equal,) or the most drastic, there is no God (or at least no All-Loving one.)  All of this added up to me makes determinism horrible to even consider, and I refuse to believe in it.

America lost last night! (by Pissed!)

REALLY??!?!  Obama again??  Obama for another four years??  Are people blind to the fiscal cliff that is looming?  Are people blind to the backwards policies of Obamaconomics and Obamacare?

We’re still in a recession people!  We’re going to stay in one for a long time too because Obama doesn’t know how to reign in his spending and he doesn’t know the first thing about how to run an economy.  You don’t spend what you don’t have (consumer economics 101) and you give plenty of incentives and tax loopholes to the job creators (economics 101).  If you people want to get jobs when we get out of college, you should have voted for Romney.  12 million more jobs was the projection!!!  Way to screw that up.

Romney is strong and decisive.  Obama is weak and panders to the weak.  For America to move “Forward!” we need someone who can make the tough decisions and know how to do what needs to be done to jump start our economy.  Romney had a vision of strength and resolve.  Obama has no vision but to smile a lot and talk pretty.

America lost last night because America apparently isn’t ready for greatness.  It isn’t ready to return to the glory we once enjoyed.  To all you Obama supporters, I hope you’re happy.  You damned us all.  And when the ceiling comes crashing in, you better take responsibiliy because I’m sure not.

~ Pissed!

I hate doctors (by anon)

I hate doctors. Last week on Tuesday I started getting sick. I had a fever and a sore throat. I played it off as the flu and drank water, took Advil and relaxed. As Thursday came I called my girlfriend to come to school and pick me up and take me home for the weekend so I could relax in my house to get better. By Friday my throat is on fire and I can’t even swallow, I go to the doctor and as I’m getting inspected she takes the flashlight and the little wooden tongue press and examines my throat. "Ahh your fine, just a little inflamed and red from coughing.  Go home and rest." So I do that and it only gets worse. Saturday morning I go to the old family doctor convinced there’s something wrong with me. This time during the inspection, "Holy crap this is one of the best cases of step I’ve seen. I don’t even need to throat swab you." The doctor handed me a prescription for antibiotics and I was feeling dandy by Sunday night. Now what kind of horse shit is this? What kind of doctors do we have for one to completely have not a clue what they are looking at, and another to know perfectly? Does every asshole in pre-med gets their degree? Like what the fuck is this? It’s not like she was diagnosing some rare illness only seen a few times a year. It's frinkin STREP THROAT! I shouldn’t have to play Russian roulette when I go to the doctor hoping I get a good one. Right? What happens when I go for a check-up and that strange lump on my back is just “knot” and not aggressive cancer? How will I know if I can’t even trust doctors? This is ridiculous. If you all have a family doctor you trust stick with him/her because I took a chance at care center and it came around to bite me.

American people are idiots when it comes to voting (by anon)

I'm pissed about the upcoming election, and it's not because of the candidates themselves or the media bullshit.  It is because of the voters. Speaking to different groups, I've come across mostly the following types of people:

1) Those who are voting for Romney, because they believe that Obama is part of some conspiracy and if we elect him, we'll all be subjected to Sharia law or some bullshit like that.

2) Those who are voting for Obama, because they view him as the lesser of the two evils (and they believe that they would just be throwing their vote away if they were to vote for the candidate they REALLY prefer).

3) Those who are completely disillusioned, and are choosing not to vote at all because they find it to be pointless.

I am somewhat appalled by the attitudes and mindsets of people in this country.

For those who fall into the first category, I have to ask, where the hell are you getting your information from? Fox News? News Talk 1130? Seriously. What solid evidence is there supporting this view? Everyone I've talked to who has spouted this nonsense seems to me to be uninformed, judgmental, overly religious, and basically brainwashed.
For those who fall into the second category, what is wrong with you? Vote for the person you want to vote for! Don't fall for this "lesser of two evils" crap, and stand up for what you believe in. It's a shame that people feel they have to essentially use their voting power as some kind of preventative measure, instead of using it to actually support their chosen candidate.

For those who fall into the third category, stop being lazy. It's easy to believe that you have no control, no way of making a difference, and honestly, I can't say I know for certain that this isn't true. But why not take the time to educate yourself anyway, and just make a decision and vote? It can't hurt.

I myself have decided to vote for Ron Paul, and I can't tell you how many people I've run into who feel that Ron Paul is their preferred candidate as well, yet don't have the guts to give their vote to him. Here we have a guy who isn't backed by mega corporations, who believes in the free market, who believes in giving people the most freedom possible to live their lives the way they choose (as long as they do not harm others), a guy who so many people seem to support, yet are too afraid to give their vote to him. What a shame.

I'm calling out to everyone - whatever category you fall into, of the three above or of some other that I didn't mention - PLEASE take the time to examine ALL of your voting options, don't succomb to the "lesser of two evils" ideology, and vote for someone you believe in. Don't believe everything you hear in the media, or even what your friends and family tell you. Do research, think for yourself, and fulfill your duty as a citizen of this country. Even if it is all a sham, and your vote won't matter, vote anyway; you certainly won't be any worse off if you do.