Uncle Sugar Lowers the Bar Again

Remember some of the guys you went through basic training with, usually the ones that were slotted to become truck drivers. Remember how you marveled that there were really people like that left in the world. That was when the Army actually had standards. Sure, you'd get the occasional private that didn't have a trigger finger or, my personal favorite, the guys that couldn't close their non-firing eyes without 100-mph tape over their glasses. However since we've been fighting the War on Terra (tm), the Army has been forced to lower standards regarding drug abuse, gang affiliation, age, weight, and "behavioral problems". Supposedly that fixed our recruiting problems. Not so fast big chief, a new story out today suggests that the Army may again lower the standards. Uh... No, seriously. Who's left? What kind of basic training class would that look like? How frustrated must drill sergeants be with the ever lowering standards. I'm sure we'll move from running at 3AM to talking about running at 7 AM. I know someone that can give a great class on Pronation and Supination! He's probably available too. More classes, less training. Can't do training with so many sub-standard sandbaggers, you can't have unit cohesiveness. Remember being told you're only as good as the weakest link? And the weakest link got the blanket party in order to reinforce not being the weakest link? Who the hell is going to do that now? While it serves a short term goal to lower the standards in order to "recruit" for a volunteer army, the long term repercussions are severe both for the institution of the Army itself, as well as for the civilian populace. Training gang members in urban warfare is probably not the best idea. Giving folks with "behavioral problems" a loaded weapon and a license to use it.... I can't imagine being in the regular Army today, I'd pull my hair out. I may not have been the most gung ho, I think Hondo has a picture of me sleeping in the BLRC (or the LTF as I renamed it to piss off the Col.), but I did adhere to the standards. When the system becomes one where the exception becomes the rule, in this case the exceptions being waivers for everything under the sun, the system breaks down. Can't wait to see how this plays out.

On the Rise: My level of boredom

So I’m watching Lucy Liu's new straight to video movie Rise: Blood Hunter. In this cinematic masterpiece she is apparently a would be journalist turned vampire, who... are you ready? Hunts and kills vampires! Damn where have we heard this story line before? So far it's only kind of lame and has not yet reached super lame, but don’t worry it’s getting there. Also Michael Chiklis has made an appearance sporting a wispy goatee. I think he’s a cop… go figure. But he hasn’t had any speaking lines yet so we’ll see where that goes.

There are some new twists on the genre:

These vampires don’t have fangs

There is a threesome involving necrophilia… that’s new.

As the “good” vampire Lucy is not above feeding oh hitchhikers.

No super human strength

They can walk in the daylight

Wow Nick Lachey and Marlon Manson have cameos

They can drink the blood of the dead

Lucy in fact does practice Santaria, but she still aint got no crystal ball.

Bring on the lame… the part where she discovers she’s a vampire an as she walks naked to the mirror in the morgue.. (they have mirrors in the morgue?) she conveniently doesn’t have a reflection! Ah ha you clever director types!

To be honest I’m not even sure these guys qualify as vampires… I mean other than the blood drinking and no reflection thing they’re really just undead. I’m just saying…