Dear US Armed Forces (re: Warlord Funding)

You mean to tell me, those tanks, full of soldiers, guns and Western ideals need protection?? From who?

via The Washington Post:

The U.S. military is funding a massive protection racket in Afghanistan, indirectly paying tens of millions of dollars to warlords, corrupt public officials and the Taliban to ensure safe passage of its supply convoys throughout the country, according to congressional investigators.

The security arrangements, part of a $2.16 billion transport contract, violate laws on the use of private contractors, as well as Defense Department regulations, and "dramatically undermine" larger U.S. objectives of curtailing corruption and strengthening effective governance in Afghanistan, a report released late Monday said.

The report describes a Defense Department that is well aware that some of the money paid to contractors winds up in the hands of warlords and insurgents. Military logisticians on the ground are focused on getting supplies where they are needed and have "virtually no understanding of how security is actually provided" for the local truck convoys that transport more than 70 percent of all goods and materials used by U.S. troops. Alarms raised by prime trucking contractors were met by the military "with indifference and inaction," the report said.

It's funny that we're still at war, even though we still have no clue where Osama bin Laden is, and are being outdone by single men armed with nothing but samurai swords. It's even funnier, though, when the same people we're supposed to be fighting against are secretly getting aid from us. US Military, it's been almost 10 years since we started this war on terrorism. Though we've found and killed Saddam Hussein (for what reason, we still don't know), this war has cost us thousands of lives, the respect of the world community and billions and billions of dollars. Those dollars could definitely have been spent elsewhere (ie: healthcare, education, bailing us out of the recession), but instead are getting pumped right back into Afghanistan (where the war started) for protection! Really, Armed Forces?? You're paying insurgents and warlords for protection of convoys, when you guys are supposed to be protecting us? If that's the case, I might have to pick up a samurai sword myself, because I certainly don't feel safe.

This reminds me of the first Iron Man, when Tony Stark found out Stark Industries was selling their weapons to terrorists as well as the government. You, as the military aren't much different. Though you're not handing over Jericho missiles and heavy firearms, you might as well be. As much as $1.6 billion of the $2 billion you just give away is heading straight for the insurgents' wallets. If that isn't double dealing then I don't know what it is. Numerous political pundits have called this war on terrorism, this generation's Vietnam War, and for good reason.

1) We have no clue what we're doing there. At this point, our troops are fighting just to be fighting, not for any ascertainable or remotely achievable goal.

2) If the war was that serious, we would've accomplished whatever goal we set out to. Let's be honest, Afghanistan & Iraq are biddies compared to our military infrastructure. We could blow those countries up by pushing a button. That's not to say we should (I don't support the war, anyway). That's to say we've been misappropriating our time on something not worthwhile.

3) It's slowly bleeding our economy dry. I don't know if you guys noticed, but unlike World War 2, this war isn't helping us out. In fact, its taking a whole lot away. What's worse is that when the troops do come back, that's a hell of a lot of young Americans who won't have jobs anymore. I guess we could always start charging other countries for protection like the Afghans are doing.

Face it, Armed Forces, this war is about as useful as a front door made out of paper. We'd have been better off trying to find gold on Mars or researching stem cells, or... ANYTHING but this war. And to turn around and pay insurgents to do what you should be doing is just disgraceful. Hell, I might have to hire some insurgents to protect me, if you guys take this letter the wrong way. I'm not too worried though. If the war and your search for Osama are any indication of your effectiveness, you shouldn't be finding me for a while...

Dear Roger Goodell

Nothing worse than a commissioner with double standards...

Roger, let's tell a story called 'A Tale of Two Quarterbacks'. As you may have guessed, the story is about two quarterbacks. No names will be used for the story. Here goes:

Once upon a time, there was a quarterback. He was the highest paid QB in the league, had a $100 million contract with his team, and was widely considered the most electrifying player in the league. Then one day, that all came to an end. The quarterback's friends royally f*cked up and made the QB a national headline because of a dog-fighting ring. Before he could even go to trial, or even be convicted of a crime, the quarterback was nationally berated by animal rights groups, bored stay-at-home mothers and even his own team's fans. The quarterback ended up losing the $100 million contract, all of his endorsements and then getting put in jail, on top of being suspended by the big, bad NFL commissioner.

Three years later, there lived another quarterback. He was another very popular QB in the league, having won two Super Bowls. The QB wasn't the sharpest tack in the box, and had some off the field problems with drinking, as well as almost killing himself by riding a motorcycle with no helmet or motorcycle license. Later on, the quarterback would be implicated in a sexual assault against a 20-year-old college student in Georgia (what he was doing in GA, I have no clue). That same big, bad commissioner would go on to say that he would like to 'sit down and talk' to the QB, not ruin his life like he did the first QB. In fact, the commissioner has yet to take any action against the quarterback. THE END.

Now, Roger, I hope the characters in the story sounded a bit familiar to you. Why is that, you ask? Because the big, bad commissioner is you, and the two quarterbacks are Michael Vick and Ben Roethlisberger. Roger, your failure to administer more than a pre-emptive warning (that's what it is at this point) to Roethlisberger is detestable. You took away the career of Michael Vick (yeah, he's back, but we don't know how long that'll last) over some dogs that he probably had no hand in killing, BEFORE he even was tried or convicted. You suspended him when there were simply allegations, but when Ben Roethlisberger allegedly rapes a chick, he gets a slap on the wrist. Since when is the life of a dog more important than the livelihood of a human, Roger? As a matter of fact, since when has preemptive suspension been a protocol of the NFL?? It doesn't make sense, nor is it remotely fair. No, I won't go as far as to say that the disciplinary actions of the NFL are 'racist,' but you have to admit, Pac-Man Jones got a pretty raw deal too. It seems like you had the bias of all biases while dealing with Big Ben, and I for one see right through it. It's not enough to uphold double standards, and call yourself a fair commissioner. Seriously, Roger, you can't have your stars and eat them too. No player should be above the law, and you shouldn't need a fairy tale to show you that...

What kind of role model is this???

Dear Rihanna

To anyone reading this, this is clearly a touchy subject. So take this letter with a grain of salt, rather than take my rhetoric as me being a proponent of domestic violence. Here goes.

Rihanna, you were never really that much of a pop icon to me. I saw you go from a Bajan dancehall-pop artist (somewhere in the realm of Sean Kingston), to a regular R&B-pop star, to a 'pop icon' (as Mediatakeout and MTV like to call you). I never really minded your career, but I always seemed to have a disdain for your music. Now, when the story and the pictures detailing your domestic run-in with Chris Brown, I was somewhat skeptical. Not only does Chris Brown seem like a soft dude, there were rumors on top of rumors that you were jealous, controlling, and had hit Chris on numerous occasions. No one but you and Chris were in that car when he allegedly (well, now, reportedly) beat you up. However, I'm willing to put money on the fact that Chris' meltdown was not completely of his own volition.

When you think about domestic violence, what do you think of? Exactly. A man beating a woman. However, who's to say that this tenet couldn't be reversed? So many times in society, we place the onus of being the bigger person on the man in the relationship, when the woman is just as responsible for the turmoil. So many times, as a society, we allow sensationalism to cast an improper shadow on people. So many times, we allow double standards to cloud our vision into thinking that the man is always the bad guy. Not to say that Chris Brown was not in the wrong, but where is any investigation on your part in the incident, Rihanna? Who's to say that you didn't provoke Chris at all? I'm sure that ANYONE would get pissed if you were hitting them up while they were driving. Women, and the matriarchal black society that we live in, are so quick to point the finger, that even before anything was proven, Chris was already guilty. In this day and age, if you get mentioned as a domestic abuser (guilty or not), you will never be able to scratch that off your record. Chris Brown may have laid not a finger on you, but will be guilty by association 99% of the time. What's worse is how you've gone about your 'road to recovery', Rihanna.

First of all, if you were so 'ashamed' of what happened, why were you back in the man's arms weeks later? Second off, why were you photographed with Drake only weeks after that? That's an awful lot of switching beds and paparazzi action for someone who's 'scared and shaken'. I'm not saying that you should have been shacked up for 5 months, but I didn't know getting back on the pony was so easy. Another thing, Rihanna. Why were you so quiet and pensive about everything until now? Your album Rated R is set to be released on November 23rd. I suppose your timing couldn't be more correct. Rihanna, so much of this incident seems skewed in your favor. You more or less traded bruises and Chris Brown's career for publicity. Something about that doesn't seem too 'ashamed' to me. Like I said in the beginning of this letter, I'm not a proponent of domestic violence. Violence has no place in a relationship and shouldn't be condoned. My mother told me never, ever to hit a woman. But if the woman is hitting me, when do I say enough is enough? Rihanna, adding to a destructive double standard shouldn't be the price you pay for platinum plaques, and you know it. It's just sad that a performer much more talented than you had to be a victim of that standard...