A Tempest in a Teapot: Faux controversey over Stanley Statue

In the history of colonial exploration and adventure, the most quoted man is likely Henry Morgan Stanley. Any educated person who isn't familiar with Stanley's famous "Dr. Livingston, I presume" should take-up skydiving without a parachute or drag racing in the fog without a seat-belt.  The Daily Telegraph has an excellent piece highlighting how the corrupt agents of skewed political correctness have hamstrung a Welsh town's ability to celebrate its' favorite son. The self-righteous, no-fun, limited, and myopic people who are hell-bent on obstructing the commissioning of this statue are a laughable testament to how bankrupt and shameless slaves to political correctness have become. Get a freakin' life, folks. Do you propose we tear down every statue to Woodrow Wilson, since he re-segregated the U.S. Civil Service, or most of the founding fathers, since they were active slave-owners? Let us not forget that Nelson Mandela was once a violent terrorist. We can devote our time to tearing apart most of history's heroes and noted characters, but sometimes saving our collective doubts and scorn for those villains who merit it, like Fidel Castro, Joseph Stalin, and Adolf Hilter. Few things are as loathsome as selective outrage.

Stanley may have been a racist, opportunist, and shameless self-promoter. Not my place to judge (I save that for when it counts, like terrorism or genocide), and these are certainly not the traits that give cause to honor him. Undoubtedly, he was also incredibly bold, intrepid, and dynamic in terms of the risk and endeavors he pursued. Those are qualities that merit recognition and give cause for just remembrance and why he is likely one of the most quoted men in history. Here is to hoping the statue gets completed, and the vow that if the werewolf should ever find himself in the Welsh town of Denbigh, you can wager he'll be sporting a big smile next to the statue of Henry Morgan Stanley.

NASA: Wishing They Were Lost in Space

This clip is astounding. It further convinces the werewolf how the absurd has usurped common-sense and how the world is losing grips with reality. If you start watching around 1:20 mark, our esteemed NASA administrator, Charles Bolden, explains the three primary objectives of NASA under his watch. The first two or forgettable boilerplate, however, the third point is to "find a way to reach out and engage the Muslim world." WTF!

Is NASA planning to dust  off some old Gemini capsules to float over the Mecca and negotiate with some Muslims on flying carpets? We have reached a point were the absurd has been normalized in our society. It about as ridiculous as having the Department of Corrections deciding to go into the day-care business using ex-cons. Not only is it bizarre, dangerous, and creepy; but it stretches beyond the bounds of fiction. When NASA has been charged with executing cultural diplomacy, representing America with a difficult global constituency,  and being the agency apologizing for America, what the hell is the rest of government up to? If NASA isn't exploring space, who is, the Ministry of Funny Walks?

Nothing has prompted the need to dissolve NASA and privatize space exploration more urgently than this comical farce.  We live in strange times indeed.

Hell, it's good for an honest laugh.