Cankles, boys to men, & other BS

I guess I was supposed to be feeling all patriotic yesterday. I probably would have if the change I believed in really happened. But since it turns out we have just another politician in the White House, today is just another day.

Obama promised to close Gitmo, but he's just shuffling people off to a different prison. He promised open government but he's keeping the same secrets Bush kept. He promised to work for gay rights but they're still asking, they're still telling and they're still being kicked out. Universal health care? Nice dream while it lasted.

I celebrated by staying home and watching Shut Up and Sing, a documentary about how the right wing nutjobs persecuted the Dixie Chicks for criticizing Bush leading us into Iraq.

Happy fucking fourth.

Some quickies:

• Former crack-smoking D.C. mayor Marion Barry has been arrested for stalking a woman.

• A new study has shown what I tried to tell my therapist a long time ago: When people with low self-esteem repeat positive phrases to themselves, they end up feeling worse. That whole positive thinking bullshit only works if you're already feeling positive.

• Fark says: "If you've ever wanted to laugh at the misfortune of others completely guilt free, have we got the perfect story for you."

The story is about how the housing crash is finally hitting luxury neighborhoods.

• An elderly Scottish woman died five years ago. Unfortunately, nobody noticed because she received a monthly pension and all her bills were paid by automatic debit. My nightmare scenario is dying home alone. My cats would eat me.

• More from the department of horrible ways to die: In one region of South Africa, 31 boys have died in the last month alone from botched circumcisions. The surgery is performed by people with no medical training, without anesthetia, using traditional tools as part of a ritual for entering manhood. One boy was admitted to hospital "with a nearly severed rotting penis."

I guess some boys just weren't meant to be men.

• Did you know that July is Cankle Awareness Month?

• Cracked has a list of the 6 scariest national anthems. Ours didn't make the list.